Operation: Mossad Assassin Protection
by your royal highness
Summary: Someone's after Ziva. He contacts her via letters, stating that if he can't have her, no one can. It's Ziva's secret, but when Gibbs and Tony find out, they go insane with worry. But just how far will the stalker go? And how far will Tony go to save Ziva?
1. Chapter 1

**So I'm starting a new story. Just something that came to me while I was re-watching Bloodbath… (I don't know why…it really doesn't relate!)**

**SUMMARY:**

**Someone is after Ziva. The whole team gets worried, especially Tony. To keep Ziva safe, Gibbs decides to let McGee have another chance in keeping one of his agents safe, even though he screwed up with Abby. Tony let's his jealousy get the better of him. (Oh, and none of the relationships listed...McAbby, Tiva, or Jibbs...are established yet.)  
**

_Dear Ziva,_

_I want you. I need you. You are the very existence of my being. You are the only thing that has kept me alive. I watch your every move, your every look, everything you have ever done in your life. You are mine, Ziva David. Mine, and only mine. You will never belong to anyone else, and, if I can not have you, then you can not have me. And I am life. I am your life. _

"Personal letter, Zee-vah?" Tony's voice shot her out of her thoughts. She quickly crumpled up the letter and shoved it into her pocket, tripping backwards; she was startled, "Jeez, sorry, Ziva." Tony said, putting his hands up in surrender, but, suddenly, he reached towards her pocket, ready to grab the note when his hand ended up in a twist on her desk, "Ow!" Tony hollered out in pain.

"You don't have my permission to kill him, Ziva. Gear up!" Gibbs said, walking in the bull pen, coffee in hand as he went to grab his sig and badge out of the drawer, "McGee, call Ducky. We've got a dead one."

"Where?"

"Norfolk. David, DiNozzo, gas the truck. Come on, let's move." Ziva sighed, trying to find a calm, serene place. But the words in that letter kept coming back to her. It hadn't been the first one she received, but it had been the first threat on her life. She wondered briefly whether she should tell Gibbs or not, but she decided that, for now, she would keep it a secret. It wouldn't hurt if she didn't tell him for one day, right? "Officer David! Come on!" Gibbs yelled, and she grabbed her backpack off of the ground before running into the elevator, standing next to her partner. She could feel the sexual tension between them, and she wanted to do nothing more than kiss him senselessly, but she couldn't in front of her boss and _McGee. _She didn't quite know when it was that she fell in love with her partner, but she had felt this way around him for a while; a couple of months at that, maybe even half a year…a year….two years…the first time she met him….she didn't even know.

The elevator doors opened to the garage and the two sets parted; McGee and Gibbs went towards the Charger, and David and DiNozzo went towards the truck.

"No, McGee. You go with David and DiNozzo. Tell Ducky and Palmer to come with me."

"On it, Boss." McGee nodded his head before running to follow the two partners, with their unusually fast pacing.

"Ah, McGoo. You decided to join us. That's very kind of you. Gas the truck." Tony demanded as he started towards the truck. It wasn't until then that he realized that Ziva had been unusually quiet. She hadn't scoffed, rolled her eyes, or said something demeaning to him about making fun of McGee or bossing him around from his last comment, or since they got out of the elevator. She seemed lost, in her own little world, and Tony could feel his heart tug a little wider for her. He knew that something was wrong, and he could almost bet that it was because of that personal letter. In fact, Tony had to admit that she had been acting a little strange, a little…jumpy the past few days. But, Tony, being Tony, the insanely in love Tony that he was, wanted to make her happy. Or, at least, make her smile, "Hey, Ziva?"

"What?" She asked, lifting her head up from the ground.

"You wanna drive?" He asked, dangling the keys in front of her face. McGee looked up from his job of gassing the truck and let his eyes got wide in fear.

"Uh…Tony? You sure about that?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Tony said, turning back to Ziva, dangling the keys again in front of her face.

"No, Tony, I really do not want to drive today." Tony thought that the earth had really fallen off its axis. Really, he did.

"Ziva?" He questioned, but he really didn't know why, "You sure? 'Cause, I mean, I'm not going to let McFreaky here take the truck out for a drive, and I'm certainly not going to drive, and I just thought that maybe you would use your crazy ninja skills and-"

"Fine, you bastard, I will drive." She snatched the keys out of his hands, suddenly angry, and then went for the drivers side. Tony was shocked. She, the one person that had touched his heart (all of his heart) had just called him a 'bastard'; something that he had never been called…by her at least.

He needed to know what was bothering her, and he needed to know _now_.

**I know it's a little short, but it's just an introduction. Please review, I promise the next chapters will be longer! Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

The car ride to Norfolk was silent. Completely silent. And Ziva didn't drive like a maniac. In fact, her driving was so slow and perfect, that Tony almost thought that his dead grandmother could drive faster then her.

"Okay, I've had enough of this." McGee suddenly shot out, from in between Tony and Ziva, "What happened between you two?" He pointed to Tony, "No movie references, no complaints about Ziva's driving, no obnoxious comments about women…" He pointed to Ziva, "You're driving! Ziva, you're driving is…too slow! Too perfect! You're not saying anything, nothing! Come on you guys, please!"

They were driving down a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly, Ziva swore, loudly, and then swerved the truck off the road, pressing the pedal down to the floor all the way.

Tony held on, "Ziva! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Shooter! There!" She pointed to the man that was running away from them, at least a mile in front of them.

But, as she got closer to the man, he turned to look at them, and Ziva's face turned pale white, "Oh no." She whispered as she let go of the pedal. The truck began to slow down.

"Ziva! You missed him!"

"Tony, I made the right decision, not to chase after him. Trust me, Tony. He is not one to be messed with, and I do not want to mess with him. Not now, please, not now." It was almost as if she pleading to the man not to hurt her. But Tony knew better then that. He knew that she would never show this type of vulnerability.

After about five minutes of Ziva staring at nothing, Tony finally spoke up, "Ziva? You gonna drive?" She didn't say anything. "Ziva? Ziva?" Another moment passed, and Ziva hadn't moved, except her eyelids to blink, occasionally, and the breathing of her chest, "You know what? How about I drive, huh? Since Mrs. Speed here is just flying down the street." Tony groaned, getting out of the truck and walking around to the drivers side, "Scoot over, Ziva, Probie." Tim scooted over, taking Tony's spot as he pulled Ziva over into the seat that he was just sitting in. Tony pressed the pedal down and started down the road again, still puzzled over Ziva's behavior.

When they finally made it to the crime scene, an old, abandoned home in the middle of the woods, Gibbs, Ducky, and Palmer were already there.

"You're late!" Gibbs shouted to his three Agents as they got out of the car and grabbed their gear quickly, running over to where their boss stood.

"Sorry, boss, Ziva drove too slow. What have we got here?"

"Hold on a second, McGee. Ziva drove too slow?" Gibbs asked, and then he realized that Ziva was lagging behind….again. Something was definitely up with his liaison officer, and he wanted to know what it was. He turned to his senior field agent, "DiNozzo."

"Yeah, boss."

"What the hell is wrong with her?"

"I don't know. Some chick thing, I bet. Maybe she's pregnant." Tony chuckled, and Gibbs slapped him on the back of the head, "You know what, boss? I'll find out."

"Better. Now get to work. McGee, pictures, David, DiNozzo, bag and tag." Ziva huffed and started towards the house.

"I guess we better get this over with, yes?" Ziva asked, and Tony matched her stepping. Tony noted that she seemed to be back to her semi-normal self, even if 'normal' Ziva David was actually 'normal'.

"Listen," Tony said, pulling on his gloves and then passing some to Ziva, "There's something troubling you, and I really wanna know what, Ziva."

"Since when are you concerned about my feelings?"

Tony hesitated for a little. This was the Ziva David he knew. Now she was acting like herself, "You're my partner, Ziva."

"Not a good enough answer." She quickly said, looking around the house, in an empty room.

"Well what am I supposed to say? That I'm in love with you?" Tony asked, spreading his arms wide as Ziva walked further down the hallway of the house. It wasn't until after he said it that he realized what he had said. She stopped, a flirtatious smile forming on her face as she turned half-way to look at him.

"Are you, Tony? Are you in love with me?" she smiled wider.

"I never said I was. But I do care." Tony said, quickly masking his slip. How could he be so stupid as to let that slip out?

"Mmm…" Ziva closed her lips, but kept a smile on as she turned back around, "There's nothing here, Tony." She said, opening one of the few cabinets in the kitchen.

"You avoided the question."

"You're supposed to be investigating a crime scene, Tony, not interrogating me. Now search through these drawers."

"For what?"

"Anything. By the look of this house, the fact that it is empty, it looks like the body was just carelessly dropped off here. But-"

"Ziva! Watch out!" Tony yelled, as a shot was fired just as his body collided against hers, and they fell to the ground. Tony got off of his partner and pulled her close to him as he scooted into the corner of the room, away from the window that the bullet had shot through, "Are you okay?" Tony whispered into Ziva's hair.

"I am fine, Tony." She breathed, "Please."

"DiNozzo! David! You two okay?" Gibbs shouted as he came into the house, his gun drawn at the ready. He spotted the two, huddled against each other in the corner, and he put his gun back into his holster. Ziva got up and started towards the back door, stepping outside.

"Hey! Ziva! Come 'ere!" Tony said, and then groaned as he ran after her. When he got to her, she was by a decapitated chair outside, reading a note. She saw him and then went to stuff it into her pocket, but he caught her hand just in time, shoving his hand inside of her pocket.

"Tony. Do not. If you value that hand, I suggest that you back away."

"Ziva, I'm only trying to help you."

"I do not need help!" She said, and then snatched her coat away from his grip, but he had managed to grab one note out of her pocket.

"Love letters? From who, Zee-vah?" Tony smiled, and she shook her head.

"They are not love letters…really." Ziva said, "Give it back to me, Tony." He opened it up and quickly read it, his face falling in the process.

"Ziva, when were you going to tell me that someone wanted to end your life?"

"I did not think it was important." She said, softly.

"Didn't think it was important? Didn't think it was important? Are you serious, Ziva? This man says, and I quote, 'If I can't have you, no one can.'"

"DiNozzo, David! What the hell is taking you guys so long, get back in here, we're getting ready to leave. Ducky just bagged the body and he and Palmer and loading it into the truck," Gibbs said, walking out to the two and standing next to Tony.

"Boss, have you seen this?"

"Seen what, DiNozzo?" He handed him the letter.

"Ziva's been hiding something from us boss. An obsessed stalker, who wants her, and if he can't have her, then he wants her dead." Tony informed his boss as he read. After reading, Gibbs face looked pissed, that was the only way to describe it, and he crumbled up the piece of paper, balling it up in his fist.

"When the hell were you going to tell me about this, David?" Gibbs asked, yelling in Ziva's face. He was angry. No, he was beyond angry. He was absolutely livid. Not only at Ziva for not telling him about the letters, but also at the anonymous person that had written them.

"I do not know, Gibbs. I did not know when the right time would be."

"When the right time would be, Officer David? I believe that the right time would be the first time that you received on of these letters! How many of these have you received?" He shoved the letter into her face, but she looked unharmed.

"About twenty. It started a couple of months ago, I would get one every week." Ziva stated, which caused Gibbs to go completely off the deep end.

"So you're telling me that some dirt bag has been harassing you for twenty weeks, and you hadn't decided to tell me about this until now?"

"I was not going to tell you, but Tony intervened."

"Well when the hell were you going to tell me about this? Or Tony? Or McGee? Or even Director Shepard, for all I care? When you were dead in autopsy? I don't think so, Officer David."

"I am a trained assassin, Gibbs. I was trained to be able to deal with people of this nature."

"And I'm an investigator. I investigate the case so that I can track down the person that you can shoot!" When he realized that Ziva wasn't going to say anything else, he turned around to face Tony.

"DiNozzo! Take Officer David back to HQ and put her under protective custody, now. Do not stop that truck for anything, and make sure you are with her at all times. She may never leave the building for any reason unless I inform you that she may, and even then, you must go with her at all times, even if that means into the restroom with her. Go. Now, DiNozzo! And take McGee with you. Give this damn letter and whatever other letters Ziva has failed to tell us about to Abby for fingerprint tests. I want this bastard, and I want him now." Gibbs said, drawing his gun and starting into the woods, his gun at the ready, for the person that had tried to kill Ziva. He was walking into the woods, muttering curse words under his breath the entire time, "Move it! Before Ziva takes one of those bullets to her skull!"

"Come on, Ziva, let's go. Boss's orders." Ziva just nodded her head and then followed him towards the truck.

"Hey, McGee! Let's blow this lemonade stand! Come on, probie, we're going back to HQ. we have to put Ziva under protective custody."

"Why?"

"Turns out Little Miss Ziva David has had a obsessive stalker for twenty weeks now, that she's failed to tell us about."

"Oh," was all McGee could say as they all got into the truck. Tony completely ignored her.

"Hey, uh, Tim? You wanna sit next to me?" Tony smiled. Ziva was shocked. Tony had wanted to sit next to McGee, and he called him Tim.

"Sure, sure." Tim said, switching seats with Ziva. Tony started to truck and then they started bouncing down the dirt road as fast as the truck could go.

Ziva was preparing for a long night ahead of her. She was wondering what she would say to Jenny about the stalker, what she would say to Abby, and how she would sleep at night knowing that she had really hurt Tony by not telling him what happened the first day she received a letter.

_How could I have been so stupid?_ Ziva thought, _As to not have trusted Gibbs and Tony, both Special Federal Agents with this?_

_How could I have been so stupid? _Tony thought, _As to have let this gone completely over my head? For twenty weeks? _

_How could I have kept this from the one person I loved. The one person I trusted?_ Ziva thought.

_How could I have kept this from the one person I actually loved. The one person I actually trusted with all my heart?_ Tony thought.

_Tony…_

_Ziva…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I know that I already updated today, but I just couldn't help myself! Sooooo here's the next chapter! It was already written like two days ago, and I really want to start on the next chapter. It's a rather long chapter, I do say, please review! There's already action, this early into the story! I know, I know! Enjoy!**

"DiNozzo! Update!" Gibbs yelled at his senior field agent as he walked into the bullpen.

"Right, boss." Tony said, picking up papers off of his desk and walking into the middle of the bullpen. He stopped.

"You want me to announce you or something, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, and Tony shook his head.

"Uh, no, boss, but I was just wondering, do you want an update on Ziva's stalker or the case?"

"Both, DiNozzo."

"Okay, so the case. Her name is…was…Trisha Parton, 37, female, Caucasian, lived alone, was married to a Mr. Darren Parton, but Darren was killed in Iraq three years ago. They didn't have any children, she joined the military right after her husband died. Took a bullet to the back after breaking her neck, Ducky said most likely by a good 'Smack' in the head before being shot. No signs of struggle on her body, seemed to have been moved though. Killed somewhere else and then dropped off in the middle of nowhere." Tony said, "Now onto Ziva. Abby found no fingerprints on the letters, besides Ziva's and mine, but, just let me say this boss, those letters…they're horrible, boss."

"Good work, DiNozzo." He stood up from his desk and stared over at Ziva's empty one, "Where the hell is she?" He asked, pointing to the empty desk.

"Uh, upstairs with Director Shepard, sir."

Gibbs didn't say anything, and just started towards the stairs, "Hey, boss?"

"Yeah, DiNozzo?"

"Any idea why she kept this a secret from us?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Gibbs shrugged as he ran up the stairs to MTAC and the director's office.

"…I know, Jen, I know. I should have told Gibbs about this sooner…"

"What about Tony?"

"What about Tony?" Gibbs heard Ziva ask Jenny as he slowly neared her office.

"Why didn't you tell Tony? He cares about you, he takes you out for a drink every Friday."

"I know, Jen, I know, but I just...did not feel right trusting him with this information."

"You didn't want to hurt him, did you?"

There was a little silence on the other side of the door before Ziva sighed and then finally spoke, "No, Jen, I did not want to worry him."

Jethro decided that he didn't want to hear anything else. It was already almost midnight, and he needed to put Ziva into protective custody for the night. He barged into her office, where the two women were sitting on the couch. Jenny rolled her eyes and stood up, crossing her arms, "Can I help you, Agent Gibbs?"

"I'm here to collect Ziva." He said, an almost grin on his face as he walked towards her.

"Ever learned how to knock, Jethro?" She muttered at him.

He gave her a half-smile, "Not with you, Jen." He then turned to Ziva and let his smile fall. He was still upset that she didn't tell him about the letters, "Ziva. With me." He motioned her to follow, "Bye, Jen." He smiled at her, and she just rolled her eyes, smiling back because she couldn't resist his smile.

"Goodnight, Jethro." She waved as they exited the office. The walk down the stairs towards the bullpen was probably the longest, most awkward walks that she had ever taken in her life.

"You will be put under custody for the night." Gibbs started, no tone in his voice as he walked over to his desk, his back turned to Ziva the entire time as he shrugged on his jacket, buttoning the buttons and swinging the scarf around his neck. Tony smiled. He knew that he was going to put him, his special senior agent, in charge of Ziva. He could almost picture her and him rolling around on the bed together, completely naked except for the twisted sheets and the sweat drenching their bodies. He glanced over at her and he began having explicit thoughts about his partner.

"With who?"

"McGee." And that was when Tony's sexual fantasies of him and Ziva came crashing down on top of him.

"Excuse me, boss?" Tony spoke up before he realized that he did, "I'm….I'm your senior field agent! Technically, McGee's still a probie! This is too big of a job for little McGoo! He couldn't handle Abby last time, and you know how that turned out."

"Yeah, I do, DiNozzo, and I'm willing to let McGee have another chance at this." McGee smiled from his desk.

"Thank you, boss."

"You're welcome. Now I want all three of you to go home, get some rest, and report back here promptly on time. Got that, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as Ziva packed up her things. McGee was already done.

"Ready, Ziva?"

"Yes, McGee."

"Goodnight Gibbs," She turned to Tony, her eyes flashing, "Goodnight Tony." She smiled as they started towards the elevator.

"Boss! How come I can't take Ziva home tonight?"

"Because that's exactly what you're going to do. I saw the look you were just giving her, DiNozzo. I'm a guy too, remember? I don't trust you two to be alone, in the same apartment, at night, protecting her, being safe… Tony put his hand up to protest, but Gibbs stopped him, "Or sanitary!" He said as he strode out of the bullpen, towards the elevator that Ziva and McGee had just disappeared into, "Goodnight, DiNozzo!"

"Yeah, yeah," Tony muttered as he packed up his things.

"Well, here we are," McGee said, smiling as he opened the door to his apartment. She smiled back.

"Thank you, McGee."

She walked in and then closed the door, locking it behind him and flicking on the light switch, "No problem. Would you like anything to drink? Water? Soda? Milk? I think we have a little…"

"Red wine?" Ziva asked, smiling as he went into the kitchen.

"Uh…no, I don't have that, sorry Ziva."

"Ah, that is okay. I will have water then, please."

"Apple?" He asked, chucking her a big, red one.

"Yes, please." She smiled, taking a bite out of it as she walked into his living room, "Ooh, very nice, McGee. Tony would be proud. Well, except for the lack of DVD's in your collection, but the TV would definitely check out as okay." She smiled.

"Yeah, part of the reason he doesn't like coming over here is that I don't have many movies."

"Funny," Ziva laughed, "He loves coming over to my place, and yet, I have a total of two movies."

"Are you serious?" McGee asked, pouting as he sat down on his couch.

"Oh, McGee. Do not take it too hard."

"Well then why does Tony come over to your apartment?"

She sat down next to him, "I do not know, Tim." She admitted, "He comes over for dinner on the weekends, we sit and talk, have a couple of glasses of wine, and then we watch a movie that he brings over. With all the commentary from him, of course, I have no idea what is happening, or he tells me what happens before it happens..." She smiled, thinking back to their last 'movie night'. Tony had brought over 'The Shining', "...and then he leaves. And on Friday's, after he brings me home from the bar, he sometimes stays and he sometimes leaves. Why he has such a fascination with my apartment, I do not know." Ziva shrugged, but quickly changed the subject before McGee said anything, "Well I am tired, McGee, could I use your shower?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Go into the bedroom, to the right."

"Thank you," She said, grabbing her blue duffel bag off of the counter and walking towards the bathroom. McGee heard the water run, and he sighed, making up the couch into a bed. He threw a blanket onto it and then a pillow before the water suddenly stopped. A couple of minutes later, a soaking wet Ziva walked out of the bathroom, her hair dripping with water, dressed in black sweats and an 'Ohio State Buckeyes' t-shirt. She leaned up against the frame between the bedroom and the living room. McGee looked up at her.

"Where'd you get that shirt?"

"Stole it from Tony's drawer." She smiled, walking over to him, where he had finished making up the bed, "Thank you, Tim."

"Not a problem. I guess I'll see you tomorrow? For work?"

"0500h?" She asked, and his eyes grew wide.

"That's when you wake up?" He asked.

"Yes, I go out running every morning. Sometimes Tony even runs with-"

"Okay, Ziva, stop it with Tony!"

"What?" Ziva asked, furrowing her eyebrows together.

"Could you say something without making a reference to Tony? Please?"

"I am sorry, McGee." She said, and he sighed.

"No, look, I should be the one that's sorry. Look, well…I don't think that boss would like it very much if you left the apartment to run at 5 in the morning."

"No one is going to hurt me, McGee. I am a trained Mossad Assassin."

"I know, Ziva, but, please, do not go running in the morning. Do not leave this apartment without me, and do not ever answer the door without telling me first, all right?" Ziva laughed.

"McGee, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Trust me." Ziva smiled.

McGee sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fine, Ziva, but I still don't want you running tomorrow morning."

"Goodnight, McGee." She said, reaching over and switching off the light.

"Goodnight, Ziva." He said, sighing as he walked into the bedroom. She heard the water start to run, and she saw the skinny line of yellow light shimmering onto his carpet from out from under the bathroom door. She stared up at the ceiling, pulling the covers close to her, when all of a sudden, she heard a sound in McGee's bedroom, ignoring it, figuring it was just McGee, she closed her eyes, trying desperately to go to sleep. She groaned and then threw a pillow from the couch and chucked it at the wall, "Ziva?" McGee's voice came from the bathroom, "You all right in there?"

"Yes, McGee. I am fine. Take your shower."

"You sure?"

"McGee!"

"On it boss, I mean...Ziva." McGee stuttered, as the bathroom door closed. She smiled and tried to bite back a laugh, but instead, all that came out was a bunch of snorting, causing McGee to get worried again; the bathroom door opened again, "Ziva?"

"I am FINE McGee!" Ziva yelled, annoyed now, "I am trying to sleep! Do you want me to call Gibbs and tell him that you have 'screwed up' by not letting me sleep?"

"Ziva, you wouldn't really do that, would you?"

"Let's see...Gibbs phone number is speed-dial number three..." She smiled at the silence from the bathroom.

"Who's number two?"

"Tony." She smiled, and she could have sworn that she heard McGee mutter, 'Figures'.

"Look, Ziva. I'm going to finish taking my shower now, and I'm not going to open up my bathroom door for every little sound I hear, all right?" McGee asked, and Ziva rolled her eyes.

"McGee! No one asked you to open your door to every little sound in the first place! No wonder Tony gets annoyed with you..." Ziva yawned, feeling a little tired spell coming over her, "Take your shower."

"Okay," McGee responded, closing the doors and turning the fan back on.

Ziva closed her eyes again, thinking about sweet, happy places with...well...to be honest...Tony. He was always on her mind, and she hadn't realized how many times she had actually mentioned him until McGee said something about it. Suddenly, she heard feet thumping onto the ground, but the water was still running. She shot her eyes open and reached for her gun, which was sitting on the coffee table. She stood up, her gun at the ready as she walked into the bedroom. She looked to the right, McGee was still in the shower. She then looked to the left but was whacked in the back. She hollered out in pain as she fell to the ground, scooting into the corner.

"McGee!" She screamed, hoping that he would hear her over the running water, the fan, and his horrible rendition of 'Rock and Roll all Night' by KISS. She stared through he darkness at the masked man.

"Ah, Ziva David, my lovely lady." His voice was rough, deep, and had a mixture of an American accent and a middle-eastern accent. Ziva almost recognized the voice, but she decided not to think about that yet.

Ziva still had her gun at the ready, but she still did the first thing that she would have done if she wasn't in McGee's house. She kicked the man in the groin, causing him to keel over in pain as she got up and out of the corner, banging on the bathroom door, "McGee!" She yelled as the man started to stand up, groaning in anger as he did so. She closed the door to the bedroom, hoping to stall him a little, and then ran towards the front door, not caring that she was dressed in sweats and a over-sized t-shirt, not caring that it was almost one in the morning, not caring that she wasn't wearing shoes. She snatched McGee's keys to his car off of his counter and bolted out the door. As she ran down the stairs and out into the chilly December air, towards McGee's car, she reached into her pocket and dialed a number.

Tony DiNozzo's.

She was spending the night, and she wanted to make sure that he knew.


	4. Chapter 4

**So, Agent Afloat…yay!**

**SPOILERS DO NOT READ BOLD IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN AGENT AFLOAT!**

**Tony's back! The look that Tony and Ziva gave each other the entire time…they're definitely hiding something, the writers just haven't told us what. And Ziva's look at the beginning of the episode…when she was looking at Tony's desk? Yes, it was almost as if he was 'blown-up' again. **

**Oh, oh, oh! And when McGee and Ziva were walking to the crime scene, Ziva said something like 'people that care about him are all here'. And she thought they were talking about Tony the whole time when they really weren't! Aww she lovesss him! **

**Wonder if Tony's ever going to find out about Ziva's little incident with the bomb in Morocco? I would like to see his reaction. **

**Hmm…and I loved loved LOVED how Gibbs said he was going to go and talk to Tony, and Ziva was walking faster then Gibbs to try and catch up with him, and then was upset that she wasn't allowed up there….and then how excited she got when anyone mentioned Tony's name…..and then when they finally saw each other, Tony was NOT smiling at Gibbs, he was so smiling at Ziva! **

**Oh, and what was up with Ziva not wanting to come back? Yes she did! She gave everyone hugs! (Except for Tony, which I was really disappointed in, but Gibbs was there, so I'll give her a break) **

**And Tony accused her of not wanting to leave because of someone! Oh, no, please not another 'Jeanne'! Please! Tiva ftw! **

**And how they walked down the passageways in the boat…I mean, I know that they're small, but Ziva is skinny enough to walk beside him, not on top of him! But I'm not complaining. **

**And then the pictures he had of her in the bikini! Three! Three pictures! Hahah yessss! Tony and Ziva sitting in a tree….hhaha I think I'm overanalyzing the episode, but the first episode had absolutely **_**no**_** Tiva in it. I was upset! And…yeah. **

**Gibbs totally suspects something. Really, he does. I can tell. But when Ziva mentioned Jenny, I had almost gotten over her, but then I was like…JENNY! NOOO! **

**And Vance is just…well…not nice! Haha. He's a jerk! DiNozzo or two new agents? I mean, **_**hello **_**what kind of idiot would chose the two new agents? DINOZZO FTW! Haha. I liked the episode, to be honest. Okay, I guess I'll stop my stupid little rant. If you want to hear more about what I thought about the episode or my favorite parts or whatever, just…contact me! PM! **

**END SPOILERS!**

**Now enjoy! **

At twelve forty-five in the morning, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo drowned another beer, slipping in another DVD and carelessly chucking the last one he watched, _The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer, _onto the floor.

He wasn't drunk, he knew that much, he had only drunk two, but he knew why he was drinking. He wanted desperately to keep the thought of McGee and Ziva together in _his_ sexual fantasy, but it kept coming back. He pulled another piece of pizza out of the box and lazily guided it into his mouth, pulling it back as he munched on the slice. A vibrate of his phone brought him out of his thoughts, and he groaned, reaching into his pocket and pulling it out.

_Ziva_.

It read, practically screaming out to him. The first thing he thought was that she was in trouble. That McGee had screwed up like Tony had said he would, and that she was scared, that she needed _him_. He quickly stood up and answered the phone, "Ziva! What's wrong, what's going on?" He answered, shrugging on his coat as he did so.

"Tony! I am coming over." He could tell that she was driving; he could hear the engine in the background.

"What, why?" Tony asked, "Are you all right?"

"No," She said, promptly, firmly, before hanging up.

"Ziva? Ziva, hello? Ziva!" He then realized that the line was dead, "Damn it." He cursed, and then threw his jacket onto the floor, realizing that beer wouldn't help this. What had happened? Had the unknown man tried to get her? Had McGee run away like a little girl? Had McGee tried to…_seduce_ her? Tony shuddered at the thought, but was cut out by a screaming.

"Tony DiNozzo!" He heard an Israel accent yell from the other side of his door. He opened it up and it revealed a panting Ziva, her hair frizzy, but still slightly wet. Her cheeks were flushed with redness, and she was dressed in…her pajamas. Her feet were bare, but obviously really dirty, and an McGee's set of keys (he could tell by the MIT keychain on it) in her hand. She was wearing black sweats, one pant leg rolled up, and the other rolled down, and she had on _his_ t-shirt, with…well nothing underneath. Tony couldn't believe that Ziva was making this so easy for him.

"Ziva, what the hell happened to you?"

"Tony," She breathed, flinging herself into his arms. He stumbled back. He wasn't aware that Ziva even knew how to give hugs, much less to _him_. This was definitely not the Ziva he knew. Something was definitely wrong, but, nevertheless, he wrapped his arms back around her, pulling her close to his body, the closet she's ever let him, while he closed the door behind him.

"Ziva," He pulled back, but instantly regretted it, "What. Happened?"

She composed herself, wiping away a strand of hair that fell into her eyes, "Nothing," She said, and then walked over and sat down onto the couch. She took a piece of pizza out of the box and took a bite of it, "What are we watching?" Tony shook his head and snatched the piece of pizza out of her hands as well as turn off the TV.

"No, Ziva, you will tell me what happened right _now_. What did McGee do?" He looked her straight in the eye, not wanting anything but the answer. All sexual fantasies of her were gone….sadly.

"McGee did not do anything, that is the problem."

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked, but then his brain went out of whack. He had come after her. McGee had left for just a moment, and at that moment, the man that had been after Ziva had gone after her. He had tried to kidnap her, "Oh, Ziva." He said, sitting down next to her, "He tried to come after you, didn't he?"

She took in a deep breath, "Yes, Tony, he did."

"But I thought you said you could handle this." He said, "I thought you said that you were trained to deal with people like this."

"Yes, I did, Tony, but I was not trained to go against Mossad." She whispered, turning her head the other way as she prepared for the fireworks.

"Excuse me? Mossad? Hold on, this dirt bag is _Mossad_? Ziva!"

"I know, Tony, I know, but just-" She started, as she quickly turned back to him, but she stopped, her lips just inches from his. Her heartbeat went insane, beating faster and faster as she could feel his breath against her face, the beer that he had drunk fresh on his breath along with a fresh mixture of pizza. He was intoxicating, and she muttered his name, "Tony…"

"Ziva.." His breath became ragged against her face, and he gave a half smile. _Just lean in, DiNozzo. Just lean in…_ But, instead of trying to give himself a pep talk, she moved closer to him. His bottom lip brushed against hers just as his phone started vibrating. Ziva quickly looked down and away, a light pink color flooding to her cheeks.

_McGee_.

"What do you want, McGee?" Tony asked into the phone, okay, more like _spat_.

"She's gone Tony, I lost her. I'm sorry. I'm going to-"

"Cool it McWorrywart, she's right here."

McGee sighed, "Oh thank god. Figures she would go over to your place."

"What are you talking about?"

"She wouldn't shut up about you. Couldn't talk about anything without your name being thrown into the conversation. Annoying, really. _Damn it!_" McGee suddenly cursed.

"What is it?"

"The bastard that came in here stole my car keys."

"Uh…that 'bastard' would be Ziva." Tony smiled.

"Oh….Oh no. She drove my Porsche? How bad is it?" McGee panicked.

"I'm sure she drove it with great care," Tony smirked.

"Look, Tony, Gibbs is gonna kill me in the morning."

Tony smiled at the thought, "Ah, you're right. I'll make sure to bring a video camera. It will probably be one of the greatest days of my life, the worst of yours, and the angriest day in the life of the great Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"You can not tell Gibbs." Ziva shook her head, speaking up, "McGee will get _slathered._"

"Uh, Ziva? I think that the term is 'slaughtered.'"

"Let me talk to him," She said, reaching her hand out for the phone.

"She wants to talk to you," Tony said into the phone, and McGee quickly told him to put her on, but he was cut off by Ziva snatching the phone out of his hand.

"McGee? Look, I am sorry, but that man…he came in and attacked me. I did what I could and then got out of there. I know that I should not have left you alone with him, but he was not after you. I am sorry, Tim. I will not tell Gibbs on you, and trust me…" She grinned and turned to Tony, a flirtatious smile on her face, "I will make sure that Tony will not say a word about it either. Goodbye, McGee." She shut the phone, and moved towards Tony, "So, what are we going to do tonight? I am not tired." She smiled.

Tony smiled back as he let his sexual fantasies come back to him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I KNOW that this is a short chapter, but it's just a little filler. Nothing amazing happens, just a lot of Tony stuff. Soooo review please! Please! The next chapter will be more eventful, trust me. **

Ziva, McGee, and Tony all stood in the elevator, determining how they were going to let this one slip past Gibbs. It would be hard, but they knew that they could somehow get it past the man of 'dark magic', as Abby would say.

McGee had a worried expression on his face, Ziva almost masked the expression, but Tony was relatively calm, his signature 'you-gotta-love-me' smile on his face as he started to hum the tune to a song neither one of them recognized.

The elevator doors dinged open, and the three stepped out, not saying a word to each other. Gibbs was already there, sipping his coffee, "Morning, Ziva…McGee. How was your night together?" The three of them stopped in front of their desks. Ziva gave Tony a longing stare, Tony just stared, and McGee opened and closed his mouth.

"Better then expected." Ziva stated, and then sat down.

"Oh, yes, _very_ much better then expected." Tony smiled at Ziva, but she gave him a look that said, 'Knock it off, Gibbs will find out.'

"Ah…McGee. I know that something happened last night, I'm not dumb." Gibbs said, standing up and placing two hands on McGee's desk, staring him down.

"Wait," Tony said, "Hold on, boss!" He rummaged through his drawer. Ziva furrowed her eyebrows together and sat down in her chair, running a hand through her hair, leaning back in her seat. He pulled out a video camera and trained it on McGee and Gibbs, "And now starts the worst day in McGee's life. Action!" He pointed to the two, pressing the button to record, biting his lip as he did so, smiling like an idiot.

"Oh my god, Tony." Ziva shook her head and Gibbs stood up.

"DiNozzo! Put that damn camera away! You three got something to tell me?" He spread his arms wide, but no one answered, they all just turned away from their boss, "No one?" Gibbs asked, "Well then I'll just assume." Gibbs said, "And then spread it around NCIS." Tony stood up, still holding the video camera on Gibbs face. He walked towards him.

"What do you think happened?"

"Threesome, DiNozzo." Tony gave a disgusted look at McGee.

"Me? With _McGee_? Are you serious? Ew, boss! No!"

"Then tell me what the hell happened last night!" Gibbs yelled, causing the whole squad room to become silent.

"Okay, look, boss, the truth?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, that would be nice, DiNozzo." Gibbs said in a tone that said 'what a stupid question'.

"It was all Ziva's fault!" He said, pointing his finger at her and then swinging the camera around to face his partner. She glared at him.

"Well, Ziva, you mind telling me what the hell happened?"

"He came after me." Ziva spoke up, "Tim was taking a shower, he could not hear me. The man attacked me, I managed to get away. I did the only thing I could think of. I went to Tony's house, spent the night, and then returned back to McGee's. I am sorry, Gibbs." But, instead of Gibbs screaming at Tony, he turned to McGee.

"McGee! How could you not hear that Ziva was in trouble?"

"I'm…I'm…"

"Forget it, Tim! I don't want to see your face in this office today, understand? You were there to _protect_ her, not ignore her!" Gibbs yelled, his piercing blue eyes staring into Tim's hazel ones with a look of death, before he stormed out of the bullpen.

"Where you going boss?" Tony asked, smiling the entire time.

"Director!" He yelled, running up the stairs. Once he was up the stairs, Tony laughed a little an then turned the camera back to Ziva and McGee.

"So…Ziva David," Tony said, in his best 'announcer' voice, "You have just dropped the bomb on our great boss, Special Agent Leroy…Jethro…Gibbs! How do you feel about this?"

"I feel horrible, McGee, I am sorry." She turned to 'the probie', and the camera turned to pan on McGee's face.

"No, no, Ziva, it's my fault. I didn't hear you screaming my name. I'm sorry." Tony moved the camera back to Ziva's face.

"No, McGee, _I_ told Gibbs. _I_ should be the one that is sorry." Tony groaned, annoyed with the 'lameness' of his video.

"Okay, stop it with the sorry fest, all right?"

"I'm going to go and see Abby. Gets me away from Gibbs." McGee said before promptly leaving the bullpen faster then DiNozzo on painkillers.

As soon as he was gone, Ziva took Tony's shoulders and shoved him up against the wall.

"Whoa, Ziva!" Tony yelled out, and a couple of passer-bys just stared at them like they were crazy. Ziva ignored them.

"I did not sleep with you last night for no reason." She muttered, "I told you to keep it quiet."

"Hey, Ziva, you were the one who told Gibbs." He whispered back, trying desperately to breathe.

"You forced me to." She spat back, looking him quickly up and down with her eyes before shoving him back up against the wall, "Do not expect me to sleep with you again for that reason." She said, shoving him again against the wall before quickly leaving the bullpen, heading towards the elevator, glaring at Tony once more, who trained the camera on Ziva's butt her entire walk there.

"Oh, you'll sleep with me again…for other reasons." Tony smiled before he realized the camera had been on the entire time. He flicked it off before sitting down and pulling out his cell phone.

A good game of Tetris was just what his mind needed. And with that, he started the game.


	6. Chapter 6

"Here ya go, Zee-vah." Tony said, chucking her an aluminum wrapped sandwich from his bag, "Got you your favorite. That veggie wrap thing you love."

She smiled, "Thank you, Tony. Trying to make up for what happened this morning, are we? Or trying to chase me into bed with you tonight, yes?"

"Well," Tony said, his mouth full of a very beef-filled sub, "Let's go with both."

She shook her head, but smiled as she took a bite out of her wrap.

"McGoo!" Tony suddenly said, and she looked up to find McGee slyly sneaking into the bullpen, "It's okay, McSneaky, Gibbs is still up with the director." he turned to Ziva, "Hey, Ziva, what do you think they're doing up there?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes, "Definitely not what you think they are doing."

Tony smiled, laughing a bit as he reached into the brown bag, chucking the aluminum foiled sub at him, "Whoosh!" He said as McGee barely caught it.

"Look, Tony, I'm only up here to deliver mail."

"Mail? Mail? Really! A new issue of GSM, probie?" Tony asked, getting all excited like it was his birthday.

"Uh, I don't know, but here's your stack of mail," he said, handing Tony his pile, "And here's yours, Ziva." And with that, he promptly left.

"McSpeedy was ready to get out of here, wasn't he, Zee-vah?"

But she didn't listen to him, she was still sorting through her mail when she came across a letter with her name written on it in a messy, familiar form. Her heart started to accelerate. Why was she scared? Why? But she knew that it was from him. It was always from _him. _She quickly ripped it open and a piece of paper fell out.

_Ziva-_

_Anthony DiNozzo? That's his name? Anthony DiNozzo? The one that has taken you away from me? Really, Ziva? I love you. Get rid of Anthony. _Kill_ him. I know that you can do it. You are trained to do it. Just close your eyes and pull the trigger. It will be over before you know it. He will be dead, and you will be with me forever. Pull the trigger on him in the next forty-eight hours, or else I will come, track him down, and kill him myself. No one will get in my way of you, Ziva. Including this Christian, Italian, Anthony DiNozzo. Kill him. You have forty-eight hours, my love._

She wanted to just fall onto the ground and die. How could this have happened to her? First it was just about her. It was just her problem that only she knew about. And then Tony found out, and now his life was in danger. It was her fault, everything was her fault. She could feel her eyes water up with tears at the thought of killing Tony, but she quickly blinked them away.

"Ziva? You okay?" Tony's voice rang in the air. She couldn't kill him. Not _him. _Not the man she loved with every fiber of her being. She was almost on a verge of a mental breakdown. She slept with Tony in order to save McGee from getting his ass kicked, which happened anyways, and now that she slept with Tony, Tony was going to pay the price by getting killed. She started to shove the letter back into the envelope, but she realized she couldn't; there was something else in there. It was a picture instead of another letter. She pulled it out, blinking through the tears in order to see the picture clearly.

It was taken at night, through the window of Tony's apartment, where they were lying on top of Tony's couch, her legs wrapped around his waist, both of them completely naked and drenched in sweat, a blanket covering half of Tony's leg, and a smile of pure ecstasy placed on both of their faces as they smiled at each other, Tony's face just inches from hers. His hand was wrapped around her head, her hair tangled in his fingers. His other hand was cupping her right breast.

"I was really that happy?" She muttered out loud, and Tony heard it.

"Yoo say sommphing, Ziva?" He asked, his mouth full of food. She glanced up at him and she turned the picture around to show Tony, "He knows."

She watched as he let his mouth drop open, the beef pieces falling out as he stuttered for words. He stood up and walked over to her desk, picking up the picture, "Where did you get this?"

"I got another letter, Tony." She said, standing up and handing it to him, "He wants me to kill you." She whispered, looking down at the ground.

He took out the letter and read it, "Ziva, we have to tell Gibbs."

"Would you like to explain this picture to him then?" She asked, snatching the picture out of his hand and shoving it into his face.

"Ziva, this is serious. Would you rather die or have Gibbs find out that we had sex?"

"I will not die, Tony." She said, "I will not."

"You don't know that."

"I am a trained-"

"Mossad assassin, I know, I know, you've said it before. But Ziva, this is different."

"How? I have dealt with these types of people before, Tony!" She yelled standing up to face his height, "I do not even know who this is!"

"We need to get you someplace safe. We have to tell Gibbs. _Now_. Come on, Ziva." He pulled on her arm, but she jerked it away.

"I can deal with this, Tony!"

"No you can't!'

"Yes, I can!"

"What can't she deal with, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, walking into the bullpen, his face looking worn, but yet still angry. He glanced over behind Tony's shoulder to make sure that McGee wasn't there, and then turned back to Tony and Ziva.

"Nothing, Gibbs." Ziva said, picking up her mail. She was going to put it away in her drawer when Tony dropped his sandwich onto the floor and snatched the papers out of her hand.

"What the hell is going on, DiNozzo?" Gibbs yelled as Tony backed away from Ziva, who was glaring at him.

"She got another letter, boss!"

Gibbs turned and glared at Ziva, "You weren't going to tell us?"

"I was. About the letter, but not about…."

"He's a stalker too, boss. See?" And with that, he showed Gibbs the picture. Ziva's eyes turned murderous, at Tony, and Gibb's face turned shocked, yet upset. After a couple of minutes of staring at the picture, he marched over to his desk and set down his coffee before starting towards the elevator.

"DiNozzo! David! My office! NOW!"


	7. Chapter 7

The second that the lights in the elevator turned off, Ziva knew that she was trapped, and it was all Tony's fault.

Gibbs turned to her, his piercing blue eyes staring into hers, "You aren't safe."

She sighed, "Gibbs, I am completely…" She started, but he put the picture up in front of her, causing an unfamiliar growth of warmth to crawl up her face.

"You went to _DiNozzo_ for comfort. Your mind may say that you're fine, but what does your heart say?" It wasn't like Gibbs to be this deep, not with her, at least.

"I don't want you going home tonight. You'll be staying in the Director's office. You too, DiNozzo."

"But boss-"

"He's after you too, he knows that she's never going to kill you, even if she _is_ a trained assassin. You're not safe either." He said, pointing at him, "The two of you will stay overnight here. McGee and I will go and pick up some of your belongings from your apartments."

Ziva groaned, "Gibbs-"

"No, Ziva, I don't want to hear it. I've lost enough agents, I'm not going to lose both of you. I want both of you to write me lists of what you want me to pick up. Email them to me, I'll go and get them for you. It's about two, I want you two to go down to Abby's lab, take this," He handed them the letter, "And keep _this_…" He pointed to the picture as Ziva and Tony both turned to glance at each other, quickly undressing each other with their eyes before looking back at Gibbs, "Out of the office, got it?" And then he flicked the emergency switch off and stepped out of the elevator, leaving Tony and Ziva in shock.

"Well that went down easier then I expected."

"Yes, Tony, it did, did it not?" She asked, and then shoved him up against the wall, "You pull a stunt like that, and you will wish that you were never born, yes, Tony?" She let go of him and then walked out into the squad room, her stomach growling for the veggie wrap she had yet to finish.

_Later that day…_

"I just sent McGee, Abs, and Ducky home. I'm heading home now. I want you two to go up there and _stay there_. You are only allowed to leave if you need to go to the bathroom, and then, Ziva, you must wake DiNozzo up, and DiNozzo, you have to take her there. I'm going to shut down the elevators for tonight. I don't want anyone in or anyone out. This building is under high surveillance. Now _go up there_!" He pointed to Jenny's office, where the light was on, "Your bags are already up there. Have a good night, you two."

"Night, boss." Tony said, smiling as he turned to Ziva as Gibbs disappeared into the elevator.

"He is treating me like a little pile, Tony."

"Uh, Ziva?" Tony asked, trying to bite back a laugh as they walked up the stairs to the Director's office, "I think you mean 'child'."

"Same difference." She scoffed.

"Actually, Ziva."

"I do not want to hear it, Tony." She said, cutting him off as they made I it to the Director's office. Tony paused and knocked, but Ziva passed him, shoving the door open to reveal a tired looking Jennifer Shepard to their eyes, making up their bed.

"I'm almost done, Ziva, Tony." She said, pulling the blanket over the air mattress in the middle of the room. The table and chairs had been pushed up against the wall, creating a space for the mattress. She fluffed the two pillow and then dropped them on top of the mattress.

"Shalom, Jen." Ziva smiled at her, and Jenny walked over to her and squeezed her tightly.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you, Ziva."

She laughed, smiling a bit as she did so, "I am fine, Jen."

"Agent DiNozzo." Jenny said, bringing Tony out of his thoughts as he stared at the air mattress, "Your bags are right there. Ziva's is the blue one, and yours, Tony, is the yellow one." She pointed to the two on the couch, side by side, "Be safe tonight, you two. I have an early morning meeting tomorrow, and I need my rest. Jethro would be very upset if I didn't show for my meeting with SecNAV." She smiled, grabbing her car keys off of her desk, "I trust you two to listen to Jethro this time, right?"

Tony just gave her his signature smile.

"Yes, Jen, you can. Thank you."

She smiled back at Ziva, "Shalom,"

"Shalom." Ziva smiled back as Jenny closed the door, locking it in the process.

"Hey, Ziva?" Tony asked as she walked towards her duffel bag.

"What, Tony? I was going to get changed. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all." He smiled, leaning up against Jenny's desk, "Change. Go on,"

She glared at him, "Turn around, Tony."

"What? I've seen you naked." he smiled again, but this time, a larger grin grew on his obnoxious, yet beautiful face.

She rolled her eyes, "You are so…"

"Stupid?"

"Immature!" She spat, turning around as she slipped off her shirt, the light reflecting off of her back to reveal her perfectly sculpted muscles. He remembered his hands digging into those muscles the other night. She slipped over a gray, over-sized shirt before slipping out of her jeans, the jeans just barely covering her butt from Tony's view. She slipped on her sweats and then turned around, "Thank you." She nodded her head, "Are you going to get changed too?"

"I guess so, " he shrugged, unbuttoning his shirt, "You know what, Zee-vah?"

"What?" she asked, sitting down, cross-legged on the mattress, pulling out a book from her duffel bag, turning the pages as she tried to figure out where she left out last. He threw his dress shirt down onto the ground and walked over to his duffel bag, pulling out a dark blue shirt with 'NCIS' written on it in white letters. He slipped it on and then took off his shoes and socks, un-doing his belt as he did so.

"I wish we had some paint in here. These orange colors are making me nauseous."

"Is it typical for Americans to get nauseous over colors?" She asked, not looking up from her book.

Tony shrugged as he stepped out of his pants, leaving his striped boxers, "Not normally, but haven't you noticed that the whole building is painted that obnoxious color?"

"I do not worry about the color of paint on the wall, Tony. I worry about more important things. Now shut up."

"Like what?" He asked, "That book?" He pointed at it.

She looked up at him and glared at him. He looked around the room, smiling, "You tired?" He asked, and she sighed, closing her book.

"You are never going to shut up, are you?"

He smirked, "Nope." He shook his head, "You tired, Z?"

"Not really, Tony, no, why? What do you have in mind?" her eyes glistened as she stood up.

"Ziva, come on! We're in the _director's _office, you know, the same director that had a heavy relationship with our boss! Let's…well…just look around, shall we? Maybe we can find some juicy evidence to blackmail Gibbs, huh?"

"Tony!" Ziva scolded, "We can not do that!"

"Why not?" He asked, walking around her desk, opening up one drawer and peering in before closing it and opening up another one.

"That is an invasion of personal privacy."

"So we gotta have a search warrant or something, Zee-vah?"

She crossed her arms, standing in front of the desk, "Technically, Tony, yes."

He bent down to look in the bottom drawer. Nothing but case files and confidential files that Tony wanted to look at but decided not to. He didn't want Ziva to be so mad at him that she didn't want to share the air mattress with him.

"Look, Ziva…" He started, walking over to her, "I-" but then there was a crash of glass, and Tony protectively reached for Ziva, ducking both their heads as they dropped to the ground, a small hole forming in the wall behind them, "We got a shooter." Tony announced, pulling Ziva closer to him under the desk. He pulled out his cell phone as he glanced at the door. How long would it take him to make it over to the door, unlock it, and then get out? Would the shooter fire again? He dialed Gibbs number as Ziva buried her face into Tony's shoulder. Another shot was fired, this time hitting the liquor that Jenny had, the glass shooting everywhere as Tony pulled Ziva closer to him behind the little part of Jenny's desk.

"Yeah, Gibbs." He said into the phone.

"Boss! We got a shooter!" Another shot was fired. Tony winced and Ziva buried her face harder into Tony's chest, gripping onto his shirt harder.

"Tony, we need to get out of here." Ziva whispered, the fear evident in her voice.

"I'll get down there as soon as possible. Get out of there. _Now_. Go to the men's bathroom. Lock the door. I'll be there. Go, DiNozzo." He closed his cell phone and then turned to Ziva as another bullet whizzed past them, running into the air mattress, which immediately popped and started to deflate. Tony stared at the door again, trying to measure the time it would take from the distance that they were from their exit, "We're going to have to get through that door as soon as possible. I have to unlock and open it up. We have to do this _fast_, Ziva."

She nodded her head, "I understand, Tony." He grabbed her hand tightly in his, squeezing in it as another bullet whizzed through another part of the glass, breaking a picture frame of Jasper Shepard. _Jen's not going to like that…_ Tony thought as he stared at the picture of her father.

"On the count of three." Tony said, "One, two, three." They jumped up and ran towards the door just as a gun shot was fired.


	8. Chapter 8

"ZIVA!" Tony yelled as a bullet lodged her in the shoulder. He pulled her close to him, behind the wall, and applied pressure to her wound. Blood was slowly seeping through his fingers, and he struggled with the lock. Finally, the door opened, and they stumbled out, falling onto the ground as Tony pulled her close to him, his hand never leaving her shoulder.

"Tony…" She mumbled.

"I'm right here, sweet cheeks. I'm right here." He whispered into her hair before standing up and picking her up, bridal style.

"I am fine…Tony." She breathed, but she didn't struggle in his grip as he hurried down the stairs, the door to the bathroom in sight. He sprinted across the line of the windows, hoping that the shooter wouldn't shoot at them before busting through the men bathroom door, placing Ziva on the ground and then locking the door behind him. He flicked on the lights and then quickly ran over to the sink, wetting a paper towel and grabbing a long dry one before bending down next to her. It was a deep wound, that was sure, and he could see the butt of the bullet in between the red blood. Carefully, he pulled it out, and she started breathing normally again, as if he had just removed a splinter from her hand. It gave him a spark of reassurance, and he applied pressure to the wound with the dry paper towel, and then started to clean her up with his other hand. He was cleaning off the dried blood on the rest of her arm before she stopped him, grabbing his hand in hers, "Thank you, Tony." She smiled, giving his hand a squeeze.

He smiled back at her, her eyes glistening with what he believed to be love, and she didn't want to shut up about it, "I lov-" He started, but was interrupted by Gibbs knocking down the door.

"She okay?" He asked, squatting down next to the two of them. _Way to ruin it, boss. _Tony thought as he looked over Ziva, placing a hand on the side of her face.

"She got shot in the arm,"

He winced as he felt a pang through his head as Gibbs' hand collided with the back of his head, "I was gonna call the ambulance, but I thought it would be best to get the bullet out of their first. And I didn't think it would be safe to let her go outside with that dirt bag still out there."

Gibbs lifted his hand again, and Tony winced, waiting for the slap, but instead he felt him pat him on the head, "Good boy, Tony. I'll call Ducky, get him up here. Looks like that wound will need stitches." and with that, he left the bathroom, pausing in the doorway before dialing a number on his cell, "I want you to get that bullet down to Abby. I don't want anyone in the director's office until the morning when we have the place secure."

"All right, boss." He nodded his head as Gibbs disappeared.

"Are you all right, Ziva?" Tony asked his partner, and she nodded her head.

"I am fine." But Tony knew that she wasn't fine. He could tell that look on her face from a million miles away.

"You're lying," He whispered, "Tell me what's wrong."

"I think my father has something to do with this." She said, "I know that the man that is after me is Mossad. He has left no forensic evidence, he has given us no leads at all. He is very trained at what he does. My father would only hire someone that good."

"But why would you father go after you?"

"I do not know, and, sometimes, I do not care to know."

"I care." Tony said, and she finally looked up at him.

"You care? That is it? You _just_ care?"

"Well…yeah…I _care_." Tony said, and she placed a hand on his arm.

"I care too." She smiled, running her hand up his arm and wrapping it around his neck, "A lot…"

Tony smiled back as he could feel his head being pulled down towards hers. Her lips were inches from his, firm, wanting for his against hers. He saw her eyes close, and he could feel her warm breath against his face as he placed a hand on the side of her face to steady himself from falling against her in his squatting position. He opened his mouth and closed his eyes, their lips inches, no centimeters, apart from each other. He could almost feel her against him as he went in to kiss her when the bathroom door opened again, revealing their ME to their eyes. Tony dropped his head and then pulled away. Ducky was stunned.

"Am I interrupting anything, Anthony?"

"Nope, just finished here, Duck."

"Good." He said, "Come on, Mr. Palmer." He motioned for his apprentice to follow him in, his medical kit in his hand. Tony walked around to the other side of Ziva, who smiled at him with her eyes.

"She got shot, Ducky. In the shoulder." He pulled the blood-drenched paper towel away form her wound.

"Oh, my dear, are you all right?"

"I am fine, Ducky."

"Mr. Palmer." Ducky said.

"Yes, Doctor Mallard?'

"Come and stitch up Ziva for me while I go and talk to Jethro, will you?"

"Yes, Doctor Mallard." He said, and then they exchanged places. Tony watched Jimmy carefully as he pulled out the necessary items. Jimmy looked nervous.

"A little jumpy, are we, Jimmy?"

He shakily smiled, "Never, Tony." He replied before starting to sew up Ziva's shoulder. She reached out her hand.

"Tony." She said, and he stared down at her hand, which was outstretched to his. He took it, squeezing it affectionately. This wasn't like Ziva, to show any pain or sign of weakness, or to need _him_.

"Ziva?" He asked as Jimmy was halfway through stitching Ziva up.

"Yes?"

"I'm gonna go and talk to Gibbs for a minute, you'll be okay, right?"

"Of course, Tony." She said, and he squeezed her hand once more before jumping up and dashing out of the bathroom where Gibbs was talking to Jenny in front of his desk. The director looked…upset…well…no, Tony took that back. The director looked _pissed. _

"Hey, boss, I need to talk to you."

"Hold on a minute, DiNozzo." He said.

"Ziva thinks the man's Mossad. Hired by her Dad." He said, not wanting to take 'no' for an answer. Gibbs stopped and turned to Tony.

"Deputy Director David?"

"That would be him," Tony said, nodding his head.

"Why?"

"She wouldn't tell me. Actually, Ducky interrupted us."

"This is an outrage. If it is her father, I want to know why," Jenny spoke up, "I need to talk to him. This is an emergency. DiNozzo," She called.

"Yeah, Director?"

"When Jimmy is done with Ziva, I want the two of you up in MTAC."

"On your six," he nodded, returning to the bathroom where Jimmy was just finishing her stitches.

"You really believe that her father would send someone to kill his own daughter?" Jenny asked Gibbs, who was still staring off after Tony.

"I don't know, Jen." Gibbs said, frustrated, "All I know is that I want this bastard," He muttered, "And I want him now. Dead. On my autopsy table downstairs, damn it! He's going to learn better then to mess with me and my agents. That will be the last mistake he'll ever make."

**Ooo! Gibbs is pissed, Tony and Ziva almost kissed again, Ziva got shot, and now they think that Ziva's father is in on it! OOO! Want more? REVIEW PLEASE!**


	9. Chapter 9

"I can handle this myself, Tony." Ziva said as Tony helped her up off of the bathroom ground. He thanked Jimmy, something that Tony rarely ever did, and then wrapped his arm around Ziva's waist, leading her towards MTAC with ease, "Where are we going?" she questioned, and he just led her up the stairs.

"MTAC."

"Why?" She questioned as they reached the landing.

"Well…your Dad's on the phone." Tony smiled, opening up the door and walking in to a very upset looking Eli David on the screen in MTAC, "He looks nothing like you," He whispered into her ear as Eli continued to yell at Gibbs, who stood next to Jenny, both of them with crossed arms.

"…I would never hurt Ziva, ever! She is my daughter, I love her with my life. Why do you think that I trained her to become an assassin? So that she could not get hurt, so that she would be able to deal with these types of things, these types of problems in life! And even if I did hire someone to kill her, they would not have missed like you said they did. A failed mission like that would result in an instant death in Mossad. Why do you think that Ziva never misses? Because they are trained not to miss, if they want to stay alive!" He yelled as Ziva and Tony walked closer to the screen. Tony tightened his grip on her waist, and she gave him a small smile, responding by wrapping her arm around his waist as well, looping her thumb through the belt loop.

"Look, Eli, all I'm saying is that Ziva has been shot-" Gibbs started, but was cut off.

"Ziva has been shot? Where is she? Is she all right?"

"Shalom, Papa." Ziva smiled, finally stepping into the picture, dragging Tony along as well. He would never admit it, but he was a little afraid of the angry man on the screen. But, on Tony's luck, her father's expression softened as he saw his daughter.

"Ziva! Shalom! Are you all right?"

"I am fine. I would be dead, though, if it was not for Tony." She gestured to her partner.

"Hey…" He smiled, looking awkwardly at Gibbs and the director, who had stepped out of the picture, admiring the two.

"Why must you touch my daughter like that?"

"Touch her like what?" Tony asked, getting a little nervous.

"With your arm…there." He pointed to the screen, and Tony dropped his hand from her waist like a hot plate.

"This shooter, Ziva…" Her dad started, "How many shots did he fire?"

"I would say about six, maybe seven. Missed us every time, except for the last one."

"Oh, Ziva. You are all right, though, you are a strong girl, yes?"

"Yes, papa, I am." She turned and glanced at Tony before nodding her head, "Shalom." and then walking over to Tony, where he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her off to the side, but barely enough. Director David could still see them.

"Listen, Deputy Director David," Gibbs started up again, "I have been working my ass off to keep your damn daughter safe, and she's not helping us any either. She refused to tell us about these letters until just recently, and now, look where that's brought us! Two of my agents almost got shot today, Ziva was almost kidnapped and killed two days ago from a man she believed to be Mossad…"

"I did not send anyone over there to kill Ziva!" Eli retaliated, "What kind of father do you think I am Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs half-smiled, "You want me to tell the truth? A damn bad one."

"Jethro!" Jenny scolded, pulling on his arm, "Do not say that."

"Why not, Jen?"

"Excuse me Agent Gibbs? I do not appreciate this." Eli yelled and then started speaking in Hebrew. Ziva's head snapped up.

'Papa' was the only word that Tony heard out of her mouth before she went spooling out in unidentifiable words. Tony's head started to spin. Ziva's mouth was moving a thousand times a minutes. 'Gibbs' followed somewhere in the words, and then he decided to pull her out of her storm when he heard 'Tony DiNozzo'. He carefully pulled on her arm, thankful that it wasn't the stitched up one.

"Uh, Ziva? I think you need to rest for a little while, what do you think, sweet cheeks?"

"Yes, let us go, Tony." She said, grabbing onto his hand as they walked out of MTAC, still fuming over what happened. They both rounded the corner, Ziva's hand still grasping on Tony's as they ran into Jimmy.

"Oh, sorry Ziva, sorry Tony." He said, nervousness evident in his voice, "Is Agent Gibbs in there?"

"Yeah, he is, Palmer, but I think you may want to wait a little while, to let the fumes die down a bit. You're not allowed in there anyways, Palmer." Tony said, raising his eyebrows.

"I-I know, Agent DiNozzo." He nodded his head, and then Tony was whisked away by Ziva, who was dragging him down the steps.

"Uh, Ziva? Where we going?"

"Your apartment."

"Umm…I don't think that Gibbs'll find it very amusing if we leave the Navy Yard, much less the building, or the squad room…."

"I need to release my anger." She said, wringing her hands together as she pressed the button for the elevator.

"And how do you…plan on doing this?" Tony asked, a little afraid of her answer. All she did was give a small laugh before looking him up and down in a rather seductive way. Tony caught on almost instantly, "Oooohoohoo…" He smiled, "I getcha, Zee-vah," His smile fell, "But Gibbs is still gonna kill us for leaving-"

"Come on, elevator!" She screamed, kicking the metal door.

"Oh yeah, Gibbs shut down the elevators." She huffed.

"Well I guess we will just have to take the stairs. Do you have your car keys? I am driving." She stuck out her hand, smiling.

"Uh, no, Ziva, I don't. Listen, as much as I want you to…release your anger…on me…there are a couple of problems with that. The shooter may still be out there, you're in no condition to…release your anger….and, most importantly…Gibbs will kill us, Ziva!"

"Fine then, Tony. We will just have to release my anger somewhere inside the building. Come on, Tony. I can not do this alone." She said as she started to walk away.

"Oh my god….Ziva!" He yelled as he started chasing after her. He wasn't letting her out of his sight…Gibbs would kill him, if he lost her!


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, so I know that this chapter is a little SHORT! But you'll understand why I had to stop there... Enjoy!**

"Ziva," Tony panted, placing his hands on his knees as he bent down, staring at his partner, who was still running down the steps with no intention of stopping, "I really…think…you should…take it…easy."

"Tired, Tony?" She stopped for a minute and smiled up at him. She sighed dramatically, "I guess you and I can not…release anger, yes?"

"Ziva!" Tony called after her, "Ziva!" She started running back down the stairs, and he groaned, running after her, "We've…run…five flights…of stairs….Ziva. Where are…we going?"

She didn't answer, and instead ran out a door. Tony almost slowed down, but, just as the door was closing, he realized where she had run to.

Outside.

"ZIVA!" Tony yelled, his heart rate quickly accelerating, "ZIVA!" He shoved open the door and saw her running around a corner. Where was she going? "Damn ninja chick…" he muttered under his breath as he rounded the corner. The shooter could still be out there. Tony was in front of the NCIS building, and he couldn't see her anywhere. Suddenly, he felt his pocket vibrate, and he pulled his phone out, checking his caller ID.

_Gibbs_.

He muttered colorful curse words before pressing the 'End' button, "ZIVA!" he yelled, running again. The cold air nipped at him, and he shivered a little, but his main priority was keeping Ziva safe. She appeared a couple of buildings in front of him, looking completely lost, her eyes searching for something…maybe someone? What was she doing? Then, a black SUV pulled up to the curb that Ziva was standing at. They stopped the car and Tony pulled his gun out, cursing again, "ZIVA!" He yelled, running towards her. Two men got out of the car, and then Ziva took off, running towards Tony. He waited till she got caught up with him, the two men, both hooded, chasing after them, their guns drawn. He grabbed her arm, pulling her down an alley, completely livid at her for taking off like that. He ducked under low, metal bins of only god knew what, and dodging carelessly thrown bags of rotting trash before reaching the back of the NCIS building. He swiped his badge through, narrowly missing another bullet, as he shoved Ziva inside before closing the door, it automatically locking in the process. He breathed out a sigh of relief before turning to Ziva, "What the hell were you thinking?" He asked as she started up the stairs, "Ziva David! You could have gotten yourself killed! What the hell were you thinking?" She didn't answer, however, and she started to run up the stairs.

"I do not need to release my anger anymore, Tony."

"_That_ was what you called 'releasing your anger'? Ziva! You nearly gave me a heart attack out there!" They continued to climb the stairs, but Ziva wasn't listening, "Ziva!" She reached for the door that lead to the squad room, and Tony couldn't believe that he was already there, "Ziva, you don't understand. I hung up on _Gibbs_ to save you. Never do that again."

"You are not the boss of me, Tony." She said, opening up the door and walking into the squad room, where Gibbs was already pacing, looking very angry.

"Look what you did _now_, Ziva."

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled as soon as they walked into the bullpen, "Why the hell didn't you answer your phone?"

"Sorry, boss, but Ziva decided to take off….outside the building, where two men got out of an SUV and started _shooting at us,_" This, he shot at Ziva, who rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Sorry I didn't take your call."

"David! What the hell is wrong with you? I specifically told you not to leave the building!" Gibbs yelled.

"Look, Gibbs, it was for the best."

"For the best? How?"

"Do not ask. It is not my fault you can not understand Hebrew."

"So, I picked up something for everyone when I went out to get food…I figured everyone would need some. Boss didn't sound really…happy…when I got onto the phone with him," McGee said, walking into the bullpen, a large, white paper bag in his hand and a large coffee in the other, "Here…boss…I thought you might…you know, like this."

He took it swiftly from his hand, "Thank you, McGee. DiNozzo!"

"Yeah, boss?"

"Keep track of Ziva for me."

"How am I supposed to do that when she decides to run every two seconds?"

Gibbs groaned, turned around, and walked to his desk, pulling something out of his drawer as he walked back, "Give me your hand." He said to Tony. When he didn't immediately give him his hand, he grabbed his right arm tightly in his grip. He then grabbed Ziva's left arm and handcuffed them together, "Problem solved."

"Not really…boss…Ziva can pick a lock, you know that, right?" Tony asked, and Gibbs nodded.

"Oh, I know." He shook her lock pick in front of her face, "Problem solved." He gave them his famous crooked smile before ducking under them, starting out of the bullpen, "Thanks for the coffee, McGee!" He yelled over his shoulder as he ran up the stairs.

"Uh…no problem boss."

"Actually probie, _problem.__ Big _problem!"

**heheheh Ziva and Tony...ahh I love them too much. Hope that this chapter makes up for the lack of any TIVA interaction in 'Capitol Offense' tonight. I was disppointed, really, I was. And I know that it's kinda confusing as to why exactly Ziva decided to run, but in later chapters, everything will make sense. I promise you! Please review, I love them all, they make me smile, and I'm sick, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEE review! Make my day!  
**


	11. Chapter 11

Tony sighed as he felt his arm getting tugged rapidly for about the twentieth time in the last five minutes. He couldn't even imagine the bruise that he was going to get from the handcuffs.

"Ziva!" Tony scolded, "Tugging at it isn't going to break it. It's not like a criminal in interrogation, and you definitely are not Gibbs," He shifted uncomfortably from where they were sitting on the floor, "And besides, my butt burns. Come on, let's go sit down." He stood up, but Ziva decided to stay on the floor, so Tony was in an awkward position, crouched down a little, but his feet planted on the floor. He rolled his eyes at her, "Zee-vah!"

"Where are we going to sit down?" She demanded.

"My chair. Come on, sweet cheeks," He turned a huge, cheeky smile at her, "You can sit on my lap." He yanked her up, and she stumbled a little, reaching out for something to grab onto before she fell down. She reached for Tony's shirt, and her shoulder burned in protests, but before she could even wince in pain, she realized she was sitting down in Tony's lap. He sighed, "This is much better."

"If I feel your hand anywhere near my ass, it is dead." She warned, sitting straight up on his lap. After a couple of minutes, she carefully leaned back against Tony's chest, trying not to tear her stitches in the process before intertwining her cuffed hand's fingers with his, "Mmm…if we were together, this would be nice." She smiled, and Tony flung his feet up onto his desk, Ziva's legs following on top of his. She relaxed into him; letting her body mold to his like they were when they were undercover.

"Are you suggesting that we should 'get together'?" Tony asked, and she turned and looked at him.

"No," She said, simply, "I was just stating the oblivious."

"Obvious, Ziva, obvious." He said, correcting her.

She rolled her eyes, "You do not have anything better to do then to correct my English, yes?"

"Oh, trust me, I can think of other things I would like to do right now then correct your English…"

"And this includes…?"

"Hey, Ziva?" He asked, completely ignoring her question. There was no way in hell that she would ever learn about his explicit fantasies about her, "Could you answer a question for me?"

"Depends on what the question is."

"What did you tell your father?" He asked as she buried her thick head of hair into his neck.

"I…I told him that what I decided to do in life did not matter, and that Gibbs was more a father to me then he was. I also told him that I knew that the shooter was Mossad, maybe not the shooter exactly, but the person that broke into McGee's apartment was Mossad. His accent was thick. I know that he was Mossad. I told him I did not believe that he had nothing to do about the person that was coming after me."

"Ah…well what about me?"

"What about you, Tony?"

"I heard you say my name. It was pretty clear,"

She blushed, "I told him that if I wanted to sleep with you, that he had no authority in saying who I can or can not sleep with."

"You want to sleep with me?"

"I never said that, Tony."

"But you implied it."

"But I already slept with you." Tony yawned.

"Maybe we could just…sleep. Your running made me tired."

"Sorry," She mumbled as Tony wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her even closer to him. She closed her eyes, ready to drift off into dream world, Tony's soft breathing lulling her to sleep.

"David! DiNozzo! What the hell are you two doing?" Gibbs asked, and Tony quickly sat up, causing Ziva to fall onto the ground, onto her hurt shoulder. Tony followed as well, landing half on top of his partner, half not. Ziva, for once, showed an emotion and yelled out in pain.

"Ziva!" Tony cried, bending down next to her. She clutched her shoulder in pain and then tried to sit up, leaning up against the file cabinet of Tony's desk. Tony could see the blood seeping through the black threads, and he cursed at himself. This was all his fault, "I'm sorry, Ziva, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't apologize, DiNozzo, it's a sign of weakness. Go get Ducky, we need him to stitch her back up."

"On it, boss." Tony said, as he abruptly stood up. Ziva cried out and then he realized that he was still cuffed to her, "Uh…boss?" He shook his hand, revealing the handcuffs to not only his boss's eyes, but the director's as well.

"Jethro!" She scolded, again, "You _handcuffed_ them together? What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that Ziva couldn't run away."

"And now she's hurt. And that's the _best_ way to keep your agents safe? I don't think so, Jethro. Unlock them, now." Jethro sighed and then picked the lock of the handcuffs. They slid off, and Tony examined the now purple and red bruise that was on his wrists. He twisted his wrist in his hand, trying to get the pain to go away, "Tony, take Ziva down to Ducky to get stitches, and then I want you two back up here. I will go and get your bags. You two are coming home with me."

"Jen-"

"No buts, Jethro. You have tried to keep them safe and failed. Now, it's my turn." And with that, she turned on her heel and started up the stairs.

Tony helped Ziva up, and then they both stopped, staring at Gibbs, who was glaring up the stairs, his eyes following the director the entire time. Ziva and Tony shared a look and then stared back at Gibbs. Finally, their boss looked down at them and sent an equally fierce glare back at them.

"Uh…we're going, boss." Tony said, quickly running to the elevator before he realized it wasn't working, and then started for the stairs.


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, so just a couple of things to clear up here. Confusing things, maybe? I don't know, basically just a refresher of what all happened? Yeah, basically.**

**So Ziva is getting these letters from this stalker saying that if he can't have her, no one can. Ziva's been behaving differently, and Tony wants to know why. She even drives slow to a crime scene! While at a crime scene, Tony finds a letter, shows it to Gibbs, and Ziva admits that the man has been contacting her for about twenty weeks. Gibbs freaks, and puts her in McGee's custody because he doesn't trust Tony. While McGee is taking a shower, a man comes in (may not be the stalker!) and tries to kidnap her. She gets away and runs to Tony's house (stealing McGee's car on the way). Tony interrogates Ziva and it ends with them almost kissing, but cut off by Tony's phone ringing. It's McGee. **

**Tim freaks because he doesn't know where Ziva is, calls Tony saying that he's lost her, and asks him not to tell Gibbs that he screwed up. Ziva says she won't tell, and she'll make sure that Tony doesn't tell by sleeping with him. She doesn't believe that sleeping with him to get him to shut up about McGee really counts as 'sleeping with him'. The next morning, Gibbs realizes that somethings wrong, Ziva gets nervous and spits out what really happened. Gibbs is angry at McGee for 'ignoring' her, even though he couldn't hear her, and bans him from the office for the day. **

**Ziva recieves another letter in which the stalker states that he knows that she 'has a relationship' with her co-worker, Anthony DiNozzo. He says that she has 48 hours to kill him or she will lose her life. He also attaches a picture of her and Tony last night, in which they are both naked on Tony's couch. She then realizes that he is a stalker as well. Tony argues with her and tries to get her to show Gibbs, but she refuses. Tony, however, snatches the letter and the picture and shows Gibbs. Gibbs pulls them into the elevator and puts Ziva under Tony's custody for the night. He forces them to stay up in the director's office for the night. While Tony is arguing with Ziva about whether or not he should search through the Director's desk or not, someone tries to murder Ziva (may not be the same person that tried to kidnap her) by shooting her. They miss and Tony calls Gibbs to ask him what he's supposed to do. While they're escaping, Ziva gets shot in the shoulder. Tony takes her down to the men's bathroom and manages to get the bullet out of her shoulder and stop the bleeding. While they were talking, they almost kiss again, but Gibbs walks in on them. Jimmy stitches Ziva's shoulder up while Ducky talks to Gibbs and Tony notes that Jimmy was acting a bit jumpy and nervous while he was stitching up Ziva. While getting stiched up, Ziva admits to Tony that she knew that the man that tried to kidnap her was Mossad, and that she believed that her father had something to do with it. **

**Tony tells Gibbs, and they set up a conference in MTAC with Director David. Gibbs and Jenny start the conference without Ziva and Tony, who walk in later. Director David states that he wasn't Mossad, because if he was, then he wouldn't have missed. He also states that he would never hurt Ziva. Ziva talks to her Dad, who seems more concerned about Tony then about the man that is after her. Gibbs steps in and tells Director David off, and then Ziva starts screaming at him in Hebrew about how he can't tell her what to do, that Gibbs was more of a father to her, that she knew that the kidnapper was Mossad, and that he wasn't able to choose who she slept with. **

**While storming out of the conference with Tony, they run into Jimmy who apparently needed to see Gibbs really badly (for reasons unknown). Tony becomes suspicious and tells him, "But you're not allowed in there." before being dragged away by Ziva. Ziva tells Tony she needs to release her anger out on him, and Tony thinks that she wants to sleep with him again, but he says he can't because he'd hurt her shoulder, and that Gibbs would kill them if he caught them or they left the building. Ziva runs down the steps and outside, where Tony chases her. She disppears, Gibbs calls Tony, but Tony doesn't pick up the phone. Ziva reappears, and then two men in a black SUV get out, shooting at them. Tony grabs Ziva and then shoves her back into the NCIS building, asking her why she decided to run. The reasons are unknown up to this point. **

**Gibbs finds out and then handcuffs them together so that Tony doesn't lose Ziva again. They almost fall asleep on top of each other on Tony's chair but Gibbs shouts at them and Tony sits up causing Ziva to fall down and him to fall on top of her. Her stitches break and Jenny is angry at Jethro for handcuffing them together. She tells him to unlock them and for Ziva to go down and get her stitches stitched back up before following her back to her house for the night.**

**And then...this chapter! Wow, that's a long summary...jeez! I guess I couldn't stop writing though! Whoops! Oh well, now read THIS chapter! Go, go, now! Review!**

"Whoa…Jenny, you got a nice place here." Tony said, whistling as Jenny opened the door to her townhouse.

"Thank you, Tony." She replied, smiling as Tony grabbed his and Ziva's duffel bags, carrying them up the stairs that Jenny led them up.

"Your room is right here. Sorry it's not clean, I wasn't expecting company tonight." She smiled sheepishly, opening up the door and revealing a rather bare room, consisting of one antique-looking bed, a slightly used dresser shoved up into the corner, and a vanity on the other side of the room. There was one window, which was closed, the blinds shut across from the door, "The bathroom's down the hallway." She pointed to a door to the left, between their room and another room.

"Thank you, Jenny." Ziva smiled.

"It's two in the morning, you two. Get some sleep, all right?"

"How about some pizza?"

"Goodnight, DiNozzo." Jenny said, glaring at him with a look that showed that she wanted nothing more then to go to sleep.

"Night, Jen." Tony smiled as they walked into their room. Tony flicked on the light, illuminating the one lamp that was in their room; next to the bed. Ziva collapsed onto the bed, slipping under the covers, closing her eyes tightly as she attempted to fall asleep, "You tired, Z?"

"Extremely." She muttered.

"You want to sleep with me?"

"Yes please…" She murmured, scooting over to give him room. He flicked off the light before he slipped in, realizing he was still dressed in his pajamas, and sighed as he relaxed into the cold sheets. She shifted in the bed and moaned as she finally settled on a spot, her head lying on Tony's chest. He placed his hand on the small of her back, causing a delightful murmur to arise from her body, a small smile creeping onto her face, "Mmm, Tony…" He cold feet entangled themselves with his, and he jumped a little, "Thank you for being here with me, Tony…" She yawned, snuggling closer into him.

"No problem, Ziva." He said as her light snoring started up. She was already asleep. He placed a kiss on the top of her head before trying to fall asleep before her snoring really kept him up all night.

At 0500, Ziva woke up with a start, rubbing her eyes. Every part of her being desired for the man that was lying next to her, snoring, not too loud, not to softly, and she quietly, quickly scooted out of his grip and out of bed. She glanced over at her sleeping partner, She took a shower, hoping that the arousing need for Tony would be washed away, but, instead, she believed that it made her crave his body more. She groaned, frustrated with herself, and then stepped out of the shower, drying off her body before realizing that her clothes were still in their bedroom. She slipped Tony's oversized shirt that she had worn to bed that night over her head. It barely covered her ass, but it would do. She muttered to herself as she exited the bathroom and walked down the hallway, towards their bedroom. She opened up the door, and Tony immediately woke up.

"Ziva! What are you doing?"

"I was…taking a shower, Tony." She said, reaching for her duffel bag when he stopped her. He got out of bed, the moonlight shining through the window and highlighting his bare chest. She almost died, he was so beautiful. She could feel her heartbeat accelerate, and she had to turn her head in order to keep herself from jumping him at that very moment. _Settle down, David. Get a hold of your senses. Do not jump him, I repeat do _not_ jump him! _Her whole body ached for Tony, and here he was, bare-chested, walking towards her, with only his boxers on, "Tony…please, no."

"What?" He asked, trying to figure out what was going on with her.

"Do not come any closer…please."

"Why not?" He asked, backing her up against the wall, placing two hands on each side of her head. He smirked at her, "Afraid, David?"

"Hardly," She said, looking down at the ground. She was hoping that the wall would pull her back from jumping on top of him and kissing him senselessly.

"You wanna talk about it?" He whispered, daring his face to be close to hers. He moved forward a little. He could almost hear her heart racing in her chest.

"Talk about what?" She asked, not turning back to look at him. He moved his face closer.

"Whatever's bugging you."

"Nothing is insecting me."

"It's bugging, and you're eyes won't shut up," he whispered, and she turned her face back, to look into _his_ eyes, but was shocked at their closeness. She let out a small gasp.

"Tony…"

"Ziva…" He breathed, and then, she realized that the wall couldn't hold her back anymore, and she wrapped one arm around his head, weaving her hand through his hair and smashing her lips down against his. It was slow, romantic kiss at first, longing for each others lips, gently pulling as Tony wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. She wrapped her other arm around his neck and when Tony's hands pressed the small of her back, she moaned, and Tony opened his mouth to let her in. The kiss started to pick up, and it became more passionate then she ever could have dreamt. They pulled at each other, finally releasing the sexual tension that had built up over the course of three years. Tony fought for control, pulling her head towards his when he thought he was in the front seat, and Ziva fought back. She moaned a little, tasting him inside of her. She could feel him smiling against her lips as Tony started to move her. She tripped, and fell backwards, her back meeting with the hardwood underneath her. Tony, who was almost attached to her, fell down on top of her. They were breathing hard, their noses touching. Ziva placed her hands on the back of his head, stroking his head, "Tony…" She smiled, heavily panting, "You should know that I prefer on top…" She moved her hands down to his back and then rolled over. They panted some more, and Tony began collecting her hair in his fist as it fell into her fist.

"This reminds me of something…"

"Mmm…me too." She smiled, "but we were acting when we were undercover, Tony, yes?"

"Yeah…" He panted as she leaned down to kiss him again. Their noses brushed against each other, their lips close to touching as they heard a door open. They both quickly got off of each other and stood up, realizing, at that moment, that they were in the hallway. Jenny Shepard stood in her bedroom doorway, dressed in a purple silk bathrobe, with an unreadable expression on her face. Surprise, anger, sadness, happiness? Neither Tony or Ziva could tell. They exchanged a nervous look with each other before looking back at their boss's boss, "Hey…Jen…"


	13. Chapter 13

"I will…meet you two downstairs in the study." She disappeared into her room again, closing the doors behind her as Ziva punched Tony in the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?" He asked, rubbing his shoulder as they walked down the stairs.

"For kissing me while we were in the director's house! You should have known!"

"Hey! _You_ kissed _me_."

She glared at him as they stood in the middle of the foyer, "We never seem to ever do anything without getting caught."

"I know," Tony sighed, "Kinda sucks."

"Yes, it does lick."

"_Suck_, Ziva, suck."

"Suck what?" She asked as they entered the study. Tony shook his head.

"Never mind." His eyes lit up as he stared at the chair, "Hey, hey, Ziva! Take a look at this."

He sat down in the chair and slipped on Jenny's rhinestone reading glasses, pushing them to the very tip of his nose, "I am Director Shepard. I love you Leroy Jethro Gibbs!" He said in a very girly impersonation. Ziva snorted.

"Take those off, Tony, before you get caught."

"Get caught doing what?" Jenny asked. Tony looked up to the ceiling, looking around for the director's voice.

"She has eagle ears like Gibbs!" Tony said, quickly shoving off the glasses.

"Get out of my chair, DiNozzo." She said as he heard her starting down the stairs. He quickly got out, standing next to Ziva as he did so. Jenny entered, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, and shook her head at them as she started towards her seat, "You two couldn't have waited until this stalker was dead to sleep together?"

"Look, Jen, we didn't sleep together…" Tony started, and she smiled.

"And I'm supposed to believe this…"

"It is true, Director." Ziva spoke up.

"Then would you care to elaborate as to why the two of you are dressed that way?"

They both looked at each other, scanning the others body up and down before turning back to the Director.

"Uh…I got nothing, Jen. Look, I'm sorry, really, I am."

She laughed, "It's okay, Tony. I was wondering when it was going to happen too."

"And by 'It' you mean…?"

"The two of you…getting together. _It_."

"Oh. Well you're not going to tell Gibbs, are you?"

"Of course not. You really think that I'm like that?"

"Well of course not, director, but you never know…"

"Tony. Ziva. Get some sleep." she looked down at her watch, "Actually, why don't you two just come into work with me early? I'll stop by and pick you two and Jethro up some coffee. That'll surely cheer him up. Now go and get changed you two. Go, go on." She shooed them out, and they quickly ran out of the room, pushing and shoving each other as they did so. Jenny smiled, shook her head, and then followed them out, where she started up the stairs to go and get dressed for work.

Tony and Ziva stood outside of the coffee shop, leaning up against the glass windows, quietly sipping their espressos together. It was a cold, cloudy DC morning, with a light drizzle starting to fall. It was six o'clock, and Jenny was inside trying to get Jethro's normal coffee right. They apparently used one too many coffee beans.

"You think that Jenny's gonna tell?" Tony asked Ziva, leaning his head to the left to look at her. She sipped her coffee.

"Not likely."

"So you don't think Gibbs will get curious and then lull the director into bed with her, and in between her being on top or him being on top, she moans out, 'Tony and Ziva are doing it too'?"

Ziva let her mouth drop a little, and then turned and looked at Tony, "You serious?"

Tony laughed, smiling at Ziva, "How long do you think she'll be in there?"

"I do not know, Tony. Depends on how perfect she wants this coffee to be." She let her eyes wander into the heavily growing crowd of people, who were trying to get out of the gathering rain by squeezing under the awnings in front of the restaurants. A line of businessmen, who looked like clones with their black suits, their briefcases in their right hands, and their umbrella in their lefts, walked past Ziva and Tony.

Ziva stared at them, "Do you see that?"

Tony laughed, "The businessmen? Yeah, I see it…"

"No, Tony, the black SUV. There. I remember it."

"There are plenty of black SUV's in DC, Ziva." Tony tried to reassure her, but the SUV did look rather out of place. It was parked, alone, across the street with the back window slightly open. The windows were pitch black, too tinted to see anyone inside.

"Get the license plate." Ziva demanded.

"What?"

"Get that damn license plate, DiNozzo." She spat, turning to look at him. Her eyes burned with anger, fury, _determination_.

"All right, Ziva, all right, but you're coming with me." he took her hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly as they started down the sidewalk, trying to stay dry and close to each other. People were shouting things at them, such as, 'This is not a good time to be worried about holding hands', and 'Let go of each other and move it!'. Tony tightened his grip on her hand as he knew that she would try to go after one of them if they said the wrong thing. He turned his head, and managed to catch the front plate, "DRT-5629" he whispered into her ear, and she nodded as they turned into the coffee shop just as Jenny was walking out.

"Jethro better appreciate this coffee." She spat, "That lady in there did not speak any English at all," She got into the car and Tony and Ziva looked at each other before quickly getting into the car with her.

"Sorry, Jen."

"It's not your fault, Tony." she sighed, "By the time that we get to work, we'll be on time. I'll miss that damn SecNAV meeting _again_…" She muttered mostly to herself as she drove them to NCIS headquarters.

By the time that they were in the elevator heading up to the squad room, Ziva felt her eyes droop, and she was becoming a little tired. She had, in fact, only gotten three hours of sleep the past night. She fought with her eyes to stay open, and the elevator doors dinged. They opened up and revealed the bullpen to her eyes. She blinked a couple of times before Jenny started walking again, right up to Gibbs.

"Here's your coffee." She spat, and then ran up the stairs to her office.

"Hey, DiNozzo, what's her problem?"

"Ziva?"

"No, Jenny!"

"Oh, the lady that was making the coffee screwed your coffee order up. She apparently couldn't speak any English."

"Ah, I see," Gibbs smiled, "Did you two have a good night last night?"

"Yes," They both said at the same time.

"I want the two of you and McGee to drop the case with the petty officer. I've handed that case over to the FBI. I want all of you to focus your energy on getting this damn stalker of Ziva's."

"Uh, boss?"

"What, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, a little frustrated. Tony wondered what had pissed him off in a matter of seconds, but he decided to drop it.

"While Ziva and I were waiting for Jen…uh…Director Shepard…to come outside with your coffee, Ziva spotted a familiar black SUV. We managed to snag the license plate number, and we'll get it to McGee to trace whose car it is."

"Good work. While DiNozzo's doing that, I want you, Ziva, to compile a list of people that could have a motive of killing you," He said, as he started to walk away.

"You serious, Gibbs? That would take days! It would be longer than McGee's book!"

"Do it, Ziva." He responded as he started up the stairs to MTAC.

"Ugh!" Ziva groaned, "Tony, do you know how unfair this-"

"Hey, you two, watch the plasma. Abby just sent up the security footage from yesterday and two days ago from down in the mail room."

"Why the mail room?"

"There wasn't any stamp on your letter, so, obviously, someone had to put it in there, right?"

"Yes, I see your point, McGee. Good job." Ziva smiled, "Put it up." She walked over to the plasma, crossing her arms as she stared at the screen. Tony stood next to her, copying her movement.

"You received the letter at around one and two that day, so it must have been before it. No one goes to any of the boxes until eight that morning. I went down there and saw that yours is the top right box. Now, the mail man comes around and puts in mail to everyone's boxes around twelve. Around fifteen minutes later, someone puts something in your mail box." a man walked onto the screen, and Ziva, Tony, and McGee all recognized him instantly. He turned his head to the left, away from the camera first, to make sure that no one was coming, and then to the right, towards the camera, to make sure that no one was coming. McGee froze the image and Ziva shook her head.

"No way…"


	14. Chapter 14

"The autopsy gremlin?" Tony cried out in the middle of the bullpen, letting his mouth drop lower to the ground.

"That does not make any sense!" Ziva said, with the same amount of surprise as Tony.

"Jimmy?" McGee asked, and Tony turned to Ziva.

"Okay, Ziva, what crazy relationship do you and Palmer have?"

"We…we don't _have _a relationship! Or _had _in that matter. I do not understand."

"Well I'm gonna figure it out." Tony said, marching towards the elevator.

"Tony! Tony wait!" Ziva yelled after him, running to go and catch him before the doors closed. She slipped through the small space between the doors just in time and huffed as she stood next to him. The doors opened to autopsy, and Tony grabbed Ziva's hand, pulling her into the room.

"Tony! Ziva! How are you two youn-" Ducky started, smiling at the two as he got up from his desk.

"Where's Palmer?" Tony demanded.

"Mr. Palmer? Well I don't know my boy, he hasn't showed up this morning."

"I need to know, Ducky." He commanded, stepping closer to the doctor. Ziva, whose hand was attached to Tony's, moved forward as well, "Ducky…"

"Tony, I am sorry that I do not know. Really, I am my boy. Why are you so curious as to where he is?"

"He's trying to kill Ziva, Doctor."

"Mr. Palmer? No! He wouldn't! My dear, do you honestly believe that?"

"We have proof!" Tony yelled out.

"Yes, but Mr. Palmer? Are you sure that you're right, Tony?"

"Sorry I'm late, Doctor Mallard. I was stuck in traffic, and then my sister called me and told me that I had to help my Mom move around some furniture…" He huffed, putting up his coat on the hook. He walked over and stood next to him, "Hey, Tony. Ziva."

"You!" Tony yelled, pointing a finger at him. Ziva grabbed onto his arm.

"Tony. Tony! Calm down!"

"Gibbs wants to see you, for interrogation _Palmer_." he spat, "Actually, _I_ want you to admit it. Right now."

"Admit what? I didn't do anything!" He said, nervously and Tony started towards Ducky's lab assistant.

"Tony!" Ziva yelled, pulling on his arm, but failing. She was wearing heels and the ground was rather slippery. Of course they had to wax is yesterday.

He had managed to back the assistant into the corner of autopsy. The look on Tony's face was menacing as he put his face close to his before muttering in an evil sounding tone, "You threatened my girlfriend."

"TONY!" Ziva yelled, finally jumping on top of him, causing the two to fall onto the ground, "What are you doing?" She hissed, "I thought that was supposed to be a-"

"PALMER!" Tony shouted, grabbing Ziva's hand as he stood up. Jimmy had fled the room and had gotten into the elevator. They started after him. Tony banged on the elevator button a couple of times before realizing that it wasn't going to open up and reveal the autopsy gremlin. His eyes darted to the door to the left that said 'STAIRS' and then bolted through it. Ziva followed behind him.

"Where exactly are we going, Tony?"

"I don't know. Wait," He pulled out his cell, dialing McGee's number.

"McGee."

"McGee! It's DiNozzo! Shut down the elevators, I repeat, shut down the elevators."

"Why?"

"Just do it McSlow! Is Palmer there?"

"No, why?"

"He took off. Call security and try to figure out what floor he's on pronto and then call me back, probie."

"Got it, boss," Tony hung up before McGee could correct himself. Tony finally chose a door and kicked it open, revealing the legal department to their eyes. Tony drew his SIG, motioning Ziva to follow. A bunch of short lawyers screamed and ran the other way. Tony shook his head as he motioned for her to take the right side. He took the left. They walked down rows and rows of cubicles and realized that Jimmy wasn't there. Tony's cell buzzed.

"DiNozzo."

"He's down in the garage."

"Thanks, probie." He said, and then hung up the phone, "Ziva! Garage! Now!" Ziva poked her head above one of the cubicles and stared at Tony. She nodded her head as she ducked back down, running towards the door. He started after he just as his cell started to ring again, "What do you want McGee?"

"DiNozzo." Gibbs voice said, "Where the hell are you and Officer David?"

"Listen, Palmer's the one that's been sendin' Ziva the letters. We went to go and get him, he took off. He's in the garage."

"Good work, DiNozzo." He hung up the phone just as the elevator doors were closing. He squeezed through and put his phone back into his pocket. She pressed the button for the garage and then waited for the elevator to get there. It opened up and she put her gun up at the ready. Tony followed as they secured the perimeter around the elevator. They then took off running, the sound of their feet rebounding off of the walls with every step they took.

"What car does he drive?" Ziva asked.

"Uh…I believe a black Jetta, but I can't be certain."

"Tony! Watch out!" Ziva cried as a black Volkswagen came swerving around the corner at top speed. Tony jumped out of the way, but then realized he shouldn't. It was Jimmy. They shared a look and then took off after him. He was almost out of the Navy Yard, "Tell them to close the gates Tony! Do not let him leave!"

He pulled out his cell phone to dial McGee's number but then realized it was too late. Jimmy's car had already passed through the gate and was heading down the road. They stopped, panting a little as they sighed.

"Gibbs isn't gonna like this. And he drives a chick car!" Tony groaned, pulling out his cell phone as he dialed the last number he wanted to dial.

Speed dial number 3:

_Gibbs_.


	15. Chapter 15

Tony sat at his desk, his head in his hands, muttering silently to himself. How could he have let Jimmy go? How could he have not seen this coming? How could he have let Jimmy's nervousness around Ziva in the bathroom slip right past him? How could he have left Ziva alone with Jimmy in the bathroom? _Oh my god, I left Palmer alone with Ziva in the bathroom…what if he poisoned her? What if the needle wasn't sterilized, what if it's infected so bad that she's going to die? No, she can't possibly die, DiNozzo, you idiot. But what if she needs to get this thing looked at? _He felt two warm hands on his shoulders, gently massaging them and his neck at the same time. He lifted his head up and turned to stare at the person giving him a massage.

"Are you okay, Tony?" Ziva asked, concern evident in her voice. She spoke almost in a whisper, her massage becoming deeper. He leant back in his chair and stared up at her as she continued to kneed his shoulders, "No need to beat yourself up over this. You did not do anything wrong."

"But I could have stopped him! I could have ended this, Ziva."

"Who knows, Tony, Jimmy may not be the stalker after all."

"Then who would it be, Ziva, who would it be?"

"Tony," She said, firmly, stopping the massage and letting her hands rest on his shoulders, "Do you really think that it was Jimmy writing those letters and it was Jimmy shooting at us at the crime scene and in the Director's office? Tony, you're a better investigator than that." She bent her face down next to his.

"Well I don't believe that Palmer even knew how to load a gun much less take a shot at _you_."

"See, there's a start," she whispered, smiling.

"I can't believe you aren't concerned about this."

"What? About Jimmy? Why should I be concerned about Jimmy?"

"No, Ziva, about everything, about the shooter, the letters, everything."

"Obviously, Tony, Jimmy delivered the letters, we know that, which means that I will not be receiving any anytime soon. Relax, Tony. You need to relax." She started massaging his shoulders again until he put a hand on top of hers.

"Stop, Ziva."

"What?"

"I appreciate what you're trying to do…" He grunted as he stood up and turned to face her, "But I…I think that we need to take you to the hospital."

Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, "Why?"

"Palmer stitched you up. I need to make sure that you're checked out okay."

"Tony, I am…"

He snatched his car keys up, "No buts, Ziva, come on, let's go, or you won't be one top tonight," he grinned and she shook her head.

"Fine," she grumbled, knowing that she had just lost the battle, "Let's go," She followed him to the elevator as they disappeared out of the squadroom just as Gibbs walked in. Noticing that none of his team was in the bullpen, he threw his hands up in utter annoyance and then spun around.

"Where's my team?" He shouted before marching over to the elevator and punching the button.

"Gibbs!" Abby yelled out, running towards him as he stepped out of the elevator. She nearly knocked him over with the force of her hug, and he patted her back.

"Nice to see you two, Abs. Where's my team?"

"Well McGee's helping me try to see if there's anything else, you know, on the letters. You know what, Gibbs? Ziva's really really _really_ taking this well. I mean, if I knew that someone was trying to kill me, I'd probably hunt them down and kill them. Well, actually, I wouldn't do that because I'm not Ziva. Ziva, however, would do that because she _is _Ziva, but I would probably-"

"Abs," Gibbs cut her off, "Whatdya got?"

"Well…nothing so far. We've run these fingerprint tests almost a million bagillion times. Well, okay, not that many time, but you get the point. I could only find three different sets of prints on the last letter Ziva received, Ziva's, Tony's, and McGee's, which I had full prints for. But, there was one partial print that I found at the very tip of the paper that is still being run through AFIS. _But, _but, Gibbs, when I find out who's print it is, you will definitely be the first to know. Well, maybe McGee will be the first to know, actually, _I _will be the first to know, and then McGee, so technically, you'll be the third to know…"

"What about the bullets found in the director's office?"

"Oh," Abby said, quietly, "I don't wanna talk about-"

"Abs! Were you able to determine the gun that was used?"

"Yup, Gibbs, yup."

"Well what is it?"

"The same one that killed Kate."

"Tony, this is _completely _unnecessary! I am fine, Tony, fine!" She shouted at him as she sat on the hospital bed, waiting for the doctor to come in. Tony leaned up against the counter and stared at her.

"Ziva, just do it."

"You really think that Jimmy is capable of this? That he even knows how to stage a crime scene, much less try to poison me or attempt to kill _me_? Me of all people, Tony, I mean, really!"

"Trust me, I've been thinking the same thing, sweet cheeks."

Ziva just stared at him, trying to calm down a little. It was only then that she noticed that Tony seemed a little bit weary, "Tony," She called, and he looked up at her, his eyes clearly showing that he was sad, "I…I am sorry."

"Sorry?" He asked, "About what?"

"About being so…rude to you, yes?"

"You weren't being rude to me. You're never rude to me. Just…aggressive."

She smiled, "That's a good word to describe it. Something is bugging you. I have not heard one movie reference in almost two weeks. You can tell me."

"Well, Ziva…" Tony started, but was cut off by the door opening.

"Ziva David?" The doctor asked, pronouncing her last name wrong.

"David." Tony and Ziva corrected at the same time. Ziva locked eyes with Tony and then looked down at her lap, smiling a little as she did so.

"Hi," He stuck out his hand, "I'm Doctor Robert Kemp, I'll be helping you today. What seems to be the problem?"

"Why don't you ask my partner?" She said, holding out her hand to point to Tony. Tony smiled his famous, 'You gotta love me' smile, and stood up, shaking the doctor's hand.

"Hi, I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo," He showed him his badge, "This is my partner, Officer David. We're here to ask you…" He started, but then stopped when he realized that Ziva was staring at him strangely, "Oh, wait. Sorry, habit. I'm…uh…Anthony DiNozzo."

"And what seems to be the problem, Agent DiNozzo?" The doctor asked, crossing his arms. _Damn! He already doesn't like me! Smooth move, DiNutsey. _

"You see, my partner, Ziva, she uh…has this stalker and he was shooting at us while we were in protective custody in NCIS, and she got a bullet lodged in her shoulder. I didn't think it was safe for her to leave the building and go to the emergency room, so I had our medical examiner remove the bullet and stitch her back up. But, we figured out that the assistant to our medical examiner is the person sending Ziva the letters, and…" With the look on the doctor's face, he realized that it was almost the same to Gibbs when he just wanted him to get on with it, "You don't really care. Got it boss, I mean, Doctor…Kempt? Kumpt? Krumpt?"

"Kemp, Agent DiNozzo, _Kemp_."

"Ah, Kemp." Tony smiled, "Got it. You sure it's not Gibbs?" But by the even more annoyed look on the doctor's face, he continued, "Sorry. Got it. Doctor Kemp. I left the assistant alone with Ziva, and I'm afraid that he did something to the stitches. Could you just check 'em out, Doc?"

He rolled his eyes, "Is he done?" He asked Ziva, and she smiled.

"I hope so."

"Which shoulder is it?" The doctor asked her as Tony stuck his tongue out at Ziva. She stuck her tongue back out at him when Doctor Kemp wasn't looking.

"My left," Tony silently thanked Jenny for packing Ziva a spaghetti-strapped top so that that doctor wouldn't have to make her change into a hospital gown.

"It does look rather infected. I'm going to prescribe a medicine for that, clean it, and then, if the redness and swelling doesn't go away in a couple of days, I want you two to come back, got it? Oh, and I don't want her to use her shoulder for anything this week. Nothing. Not even to pull back her hair. No field work or whatever you agents call it either. _Got it?_"

"Yes," Ziva nodded, smiling as the doctor began to write illegible on the paper. Tony smiled at Ziva, who just smiled back, sincerely, Tony noted.

"Hey, Doc, what about sex? Can Ziva have..." He started, but was cut off by a hand hitting him in the abdomen, "Ow...never mind," He mouthed another 'Ow' at Ziva as Tony's phone started to buzz.

"DiNozzo," He said, picking it up, "Uh, hey boss….No, Ziva's with me….Yeah, we're at the hospital…No, she's not hurt…yeah…no…really?" Tony's face fell, "No…Yeah, I got it boss, on your six." And then he hung up the phone.

"Bad news, Tony?"

"Yes," He muttered, "Bad news, Ziva. Very bad."


	16. Chapter 16

_Thirty minutes earlier…_

"Run a search on Hamas. Ari was Hamas, maybe they have something against Ziva." Gibbs commanded.

"Well that's just it, McGee's still running it. So far, there seems to be no one besides Ari and her father who possibly had any relationship with or anything against Ziva, and Ari didn't _have_ anything against her." Abby said as she continued to pace around McGee, who was sitting at her computer, in the lab.

"I suppose now is a good time to see the director." Gibbs huffed, turning on his heel to march out of the lab.

"Wait, why? I'm not done yet, Gibbs!" Abby said, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him.

Gibbs sighed and turned back around, trying to keep the half-smile off of his face, "What else ya got, Abs?"

"Glad you asked! See, I managed to find a good match with the partial print found on the letter. It matches in three points, which is really good, I mean, _really good_."

"Who is it?"

"Some guy named Michael Rivkin. But McGee did a profile search, and we can't find anything, I mean, it's like this guy never existed. But what _really_ puzzled me was that AFIS could recognize him, but he's not…anywhere!"

"They're blocking his file from us." Gibbs noted, squinting at the plasma so he could see what was on Abby's computer.

"Why?" McGee asked.

Gibbs just stared at him.

"That's what you want me to figure out. On it boss."

"Good work, Abs," Gibbs said, kissing her cheek as he started out of the lab. He stopped in the entryway and turned around.

"Yeah, Gibbs?" Abby asked.

"Where the hell are Tony and Ziva?"

"Uh, no idea, boss." McGee replied.

Gibbs groaned, "Run a BOLO on Palmer's car. I've gotta find my two damn agents."

Suddenly, Abby's computer started to beep. Gibbs turned back around and stared at Abby.

"Hey, we got a hit on Michael!"

"Yeah, and?" Gibbs asked, starting back towards the two.

"Let's see, Michael Leter Rivkin was born in 1980…Hamas…his record's clean, I mean, not even a scratch! But he's Hamas…how come he doesn't have anything on his record?" McGee continued to scroll down, "Gibbs, this is really hinky."

"I know," Gibbs muttered, quietly under his breath,

"But wait, hold on, McGee, scroll back up." McGee did so as Abby quickly read the screen, her mouth dropping open as well, "Whoa,"

"Whoa…"

"I need to find my two damn agents!" Gibbs yelled, "Find them, McGee! Find them both! Especially Ziva! I want to know all the damn secrets she's keeping from us, or me. It seems that she has a little bit of a relationship with DiNozzo," Gibbs spat his senior agent's name.

"Tony and Ziva? What about rule twelve, boss?" McGee asked, but Gibbs ignored his question. He continued to stare at the screen, completely livid at Ziva. How could she have kept this from him?

"Tony and Ziva?" Abby squealed and bounced around in a circle, her lab coat flowing around her legs, "Finally! Yay! Yay! Yay!"

"Damn Ziva…" Gibbs pulled out his cell phone and dialed Tony's number.

_Thirty minutes later…_

"Tony, wait! Tony!" Ziva called, as she huffed, following him out of the elevator. She broke into a small jog to catch up with him as he continued to storm into the bullpen, "Tony! If you are going to be angry at me, at least tell me what I did."

He spun on his heel, nearly knocking Ziva down. She stumbled back and stared at him with complete and utter confusion, "Tony." She demanded, "What?"

He took a deep breath before managing to force it out of his gritted teeth, "When were you going to tell me you were engaged?"

**Okay, so I KNOW that Michael Rivkin is the name of that guy she 'left in Israel' but this isn't season 6, well this story isn't in season 6, hence the fact that Jenny is still alive, and it's sort of AU. So review!**


	17. Chapter 17

"Oh," Ziva muttered, "Yes, _him_."

"Yes, him? That's all you have to say about this? Ziva!" He yelled, throwing his arms out in the air. He was literally screaming at her, in her face, which remained calm and unfazed, "You didn't have the guts to tell me that you were engaged? _Engaged_, Ziva! _Engaged! _And, you didn't tell me that the same guy that you're engaged to is the same person that is trying to kill you? Did you know about this?" he paused for a moment, "Ziva, answer me!" She didn't respond again, "Ziva! Ziva you bet-"

"I broke it off!" She finally yelled before she started speaking with her hands, "I broke off the engagement! My father set us up, it was an _arranged marriage_, Tony! After Gibbs retired, when you became team leader, when you came over to my house once every week, my father was spying on us, Tony. Spying on us, on me. He thought that I loved you, he thought that I was sleeping with you! He set up an arranged marriage for me because he was afraid that I would fall too in love with you, Tony! I am sorry that I never told you, but you must understand why I acted the way I did."

"You had no right not to tell me. That's-"

"Personal information, _DiNozzo_. Why do you always have to know everything about everyone? You are always walking around with your head high and strutting, trying to be tosey and get into people's business."

"Nosey, Ziva, the term is-"

"I do not care what the 'term' is, Di_Nosey_. I do not…I do not care what you think." She said, and then started to walk away when Tony grabbed onto her arm.

"Look, Ziva, lis-"

"No!" She seethed, "I am done listening." She then ripped her arm out of his grip and quickly started towards the stairs. She needed a good conversation with her 'mother'.

Tony sighed and shook his head as he watched Ziva run up the stairs to the director's office, not bothering to even glance back down at him.

Suddenly, he felt a hand collide with the back of his head, "Ow! What was that for?"

"For letting her get away," Gibbs whispered into his ear before starting the same way Ziva went.

Tony turned around, to go and sit at his desk, when he noticed a bunch of heads poking up from their cubicles, their curious eyes trying to see what had just happened. Of course they had heard their argument, the whole NCIS building probably heard their argument, and now, the whole NCIS building probably knew that Tony and Ziva are dating…well…_were_ dating.

_Were_, _DiNozzo, past tense. You were, for like, a day. You big, stupid, arrogant, clueless, selfish, love-drunk, ass hole, son of a bitch. _

"So…looks like you screwed up big, Tony. Bigger than me?"

Tony stood up, slamming his chair into his desk, striding towards McGee. Tony wanted a fight, maybe not with McGee, but definitely with himself.

"Tony, calm down." McGee said, trying to get his colleague to go and sit down in his chair, "It'll be all right. I'm sure that Ziva will-" And that was when Tony took a punch at McGee. Tim ducked as Tony's hand collided into the half-wall behind him, "Tony! Watch out! Look, you need to calm down. Why don't you go to the gym and take your anger out on the punching bag?"

"Fine," he spat, "Fine." And with that he walked back to his desk, threw open the drawer with a loud clank, and then pulled out his sweats and t-shirt before slamming it back into the desk and starting towards the elevator. Tim decided that, once Tony was in the elevator, he could properly stand up and get back to researching and BOLO's. But what if Tony came back? McGee quickly packed up his stuff and then started towards the elevator to go pay a visit to Abby.

"Ziva, as much as I hate to admit this, I think that Tony's right. If you're going to start a relationship with him, at least admit that you're engaged."

She sighed, "Seriously, Jen?"

She smiled, "Seriously, Ziva. Think about it this way, if you were Tony, would you want to know if your significant other was engaged?"

"Yes, but I am not engaged, Jen! I broke it off a couple of months ago. I did not…I did not think this through, did I?"

Jen smiled, "Do you want the truth?"

"I did not think this through," She briefly thought back to their encounter in the bathroom, where she had repeated the same words to Tony, when she was hinting at him that she was madly in love with him while he carelessly threw Jeanne around. She plopped down onto the sofa, "Jen…I…I bolted up. I think that Tony, he…he actually was committed. To me, to _us_. And I know that that sounds a little strange coming from me, but Tony seemed…committed."

"Maybe you should give him another chance, Ziva, he was just…surprised. Tony deserves you, and you deserve him. Both of you are going through a very rough time, you will both snap at almost anything."

Ziva nodded her head, smiling up at her friend, "Thank you, Jen."

"Anytime, Ziva."

When Tony slammed open the door from the locker room to the gym floor, the few people there scattered in every direction, trying to get away from the very angry Anthony DiNozzo. He walked over to the boxes and picked up two boxing mitts before turning up the radio as loud as it could go. It blared death metal music, Abby's favorite, as he turned to face the punching bag.

He glared at it. It could be Jimmy Palmer, it could be Michael Rivkin, it could be anyone except for Ziva. McGee, Gibbs, hell, even Ducky, but never Ziva. Never Ziva. He punched the bag once. He could almost feel the anger pouring out of him.

"This is for Palmer!" He punched the bag, "This is for McGee!" he punched it again, "This is for Michael Rivkin," He punched it, "And again for Michael Rivkin," He hit it again, bouncing back and forth from his left to his right foot, on his toes, "Michael Rivkin!" He slammed the red glove into the black punching bag over and over again as he screamed the name of Ziva's fiance, "Michael Rivkin! Michael Rivkin!" He punched it again and again, the bag swinging so fast, his punches hitting the bag so fast that he barely had time to say Michael's first syllable of his name. Suddenly, Tony shouted out, into the empty, echoing gym, "Anthony DiNozzo!" he yelled, "For letting Palmer get away, for not protecting Ziva, for letting Ziva go, for yelling at Ziva. For Ziva, Ziva, Ziva! Anthony DiNozzo you ass hole!" He punched the bag multiple times before finally stumbling back, plopping down on the ground, completely out of breath. He slipped off the punching gloves and stared down at his red, swollen knuckles.

"Are you done?" He turned his head sharply and stared at a very sexy looking Ziva David, who was leaning up against the doorframe in the locker room, dressed in a tank top and, for once, shorts, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She walked over to him, okay, more like strutted, but Tony couldn't figure out if that was just his mind playing tricks on him or not, "You better not be, because I want to join," She picked up two gloves from the crate and slipped them on before walking over to where he sat, still huffing. She stared down at him, "I…I am truly sorry, Tony, for not telling you. But I never liked him in the first place. I tried so hard not to turn and just shoot him."

"That's what you say about me," he panted, "You _said_ about me," he corrected himself, "and you never shot me."

"No, Tony, because that would have hurt me. Come," She said, turning up the music louder, the room almost vibrating, "Let's punch these bags, yes?"

"I thought you couldn't use your shoulder."

"A little exercise can never hurt, yes?" Ziva asked, taking one glove off and reaching a hand down to him, "Let's punch these bags!" She repeated, and Tony smiled, taking her hand as she pulled him up. He pulled on his gloves and then started towards his own bag as Ziva moved to hers.

"What are we punching for?"

"You mean who are we punching? Michael. Michael Rivkin."

Tony smiled his famous smile, "I can live with that."

Ziva laughed, "I'm sure you can." She put her hands up in a defensive position, ready to punch the bag. Her face determined, her eyes burning with hate, "Michael Rivkin!" Ziva shouted as she punched the bag. She flashed a smirk at Tony, who shouted his name too, before the punching and the screaming began.

"Uh, boss! Got good news!" McGee announced as Gibbs walked into the bullpen.

"Well tell me, McGee, I'm not gonna announce you,"

"Got the BOLO on Jimmy's car."

"Where?"

"A small house just outside of Quantico,"

"Gear up!" Gibbs yelled as he put on his badge, set his coffee down and then holstered his SIG as he looked around, realizing that the only one in the bullpen at all was McGee, "McGee!" Gibbs yelled.

"Yeah, boss?"

"Where the _hell_ are my two damn agents! Again?"

"Well Ziva came down from the director's office, grabbed some clothes and then went into the elevator. She hasn't come back. And Tony…he's…uh…in the gym," McGee responded, "Want me to gas the truck?"

"No, the Charger. This isn't a crime scene."

"On it, boss."

"I gotta get Ziva and Tony…" Gibbs muttered, even though he really didn't want to see what the two were doing in the gym. Because he had a pretty good guess.


	18. Chapter 18

"You know, it works better when there's a face to punch," Gibbs loudly said, and his two agents turned, coated with sweat, their eyes wide as they stared at their boss. He gave his famous smile as he walked towards the radio, turning down the loud screaming of the man in the song, before starting towards the two, his hands behind his back.

Ziva's hair was drenched in sweat, her bare stomach moving rapidly in and out, for she was dressed in only a sports bra and shorts. He noticed the blue tank top on the ground near her feet, and he smiled again, "Officer David,"

"Gibbs." She acknowledged.

He turned to Tony, whose shirt was drenched in sweat, with little droplets running down his face as he smirked, "Agent DiNozzo."

"Boss, listen, I can explain…"

"Don't bother. We found Palmer and his car. Come on, let's go."

Tony and Ziva exchanged excited glances as Tony started after his boss, throwing down his boxing glove. Ziva bent down to grab her shirt, threw off her boxing gloves as well, and then started after him.

"Hey, wait, boss! What about a shower?" Tony asked as Gibbs walked into the elevator.

"Maybe you'll find a nice lake in Quanitco, come on, and let's move it!"

Tony groaned and then started towards the Navy Yard to get the Charger with Ziva before McGee called him.

"What?" Tony spat into the phone, while sniffing his armpit before making a disgusted face. Ziva chuckled.

"Hey, Tony, listen, I managed to figure out that Michael Rivkin went by an Alias name, Michael Retkin, who was posing as a Mossad agent. He took a plane to Dulles Airport four days ago."

"So that means he shot Ziva," He said as he unlocked the Charger, getting in and starting up the car. Ziva got in, shotgun. He pulled out of the Navy Yard before getting onto the highway.

"Well not necessarily, we don't have proof, but we did find records that Michael _Retkin _bought the same gun that the bullets were from…"

"It's gotta be him. Good work, probie. Get yourself a probie snack, but not from my drawer. Buy yourself one." And then he hung up the phone.

"I feel disgusting, Tony. Can we not stop?"

"No, Zee-vah, Gibbs would have both our asses, and, to be honest, I like where mine is!"

"So do I," She said, giving him a seductive smile.

"Oh, Ziva, don't do that to me, please."

She laughed, "Why not, Tony?"

He turned and looked at her, "Because…Zee-vah, I wanna catch this bastard before-"

"Jimmy is not a bastard." She interrupted.

"He sent you those letters!" Tony retorted, "He's guilty as hell! Just look at how fast he took off!"

"Tony, shut up."

"Nuh-uh, Ziva…"

"I don't want to fight with you," She said, looking down at her hands, "Not anymore."

"Look, Ziva, I'm-"

"It's fine, Tony. Fine." Ziva sighed just as Tony narrowly missed a car. The GPS started to beep insanely, and Ziva pointed to the car that was parked out in front of one of the houses, "That's his car!" Tony quickly parallel-parked, the tires screeching as he did so, and got out of the car. Ziva copied, drawing her gun as well as they walked towards his car. Ziva shoved the gun at the car's window, but then realized that no one was in there, "Clear!" Ziva shouted as she put her gun back into her holster, peering into the car, "There is nothing in here, Tony." She commented before pulling out her lock-picking kit and opening up the car door. Tony handed her a pair of gloves and she slipped them on before resting on her hands and knees, checking under the seat, in the back of the seat, and in the glove compartment for anything useful, "Nothing but a bunch of receipts!" Ziva cried, frustrated. Tony, who was too busy checking out Ziva's ass, didn't notice the bits of white paper that were fluttering down around him as she chucked them out behind her. She finally groaned and stood up, wiping the dirt off of her pants as Tony snapped back into reality, "Let's go. He must be inside, yes?" they drew their guns as they started towards the house. Tony put a finger to his mouth, to tell Ziva to be quiet, and Ziva shook her head at him, furrowing her eyebrows together as she did so, "No way," She said, sarcastically as Tony kicked open the door, walking in, his gun drawn. Ziva followed him, and they split in different directions, "Clear!" Ziva cried, as she looked in the living room.

"Clear!" Tony cried, looking in the kitchen. Suddenly, they heard a scream, and they both turned to see a rather short, old lady standing there, a broom in her shaking hands.

"Stay back or…or I'll call the police!"

Tony smiled as Ziva slightly turned to look at her partner, "Look, lady, I think we have more authority then the police."

"What are you?"

"Federal Agents." Tony replied.

"What agency?" She nearly screamed.

"NCIS," They both said at the same time.

"We're looking for Jimmy Palmer."

"Mom? Is everything all…" They heard someone say, and Tony spun around to come face to face with Jimmy, his eyes wide, his face white.

"You! Palmer!"

"You're under arrest," Ziva said, "Remain calm and do not make any sudden moves or I will have to give in and kill you myself." Tony grabbed his shoulders, turned his around and handcuffed him together, "You going to read him his rights?" Ziva asked her partner as they walked out of the house, across the lawn towards their Charger.

He smiled at her, "He doesn't have any rights. Get in, autopsy gremlin." Ziva opened up the back door and Tony shoved him in, slamming the door behind him before starting for the passenger's seat. Ziva started for the drivers side, and they stopped to stare at each other in front of the car. Tony pulled out the keys, "You wanna drive, sweet cheeks?"

She smiled, snatching the keys out of his hand, "Yes, I would, my little hairy butt," She said.

"I love you."

"I love you more."

"I doubt that." Tony smirked, "But let's make it a little fun…whoever has more fun having sex tonight wins."

"Oh, you are so going up, DiNozzo."

"Down, Ziva, the term is down."

"Same difference."

"Actually, it's not." Tony shook his head.

"I still love you, so what is the difference?"

**Fluff! But it's Tiva fluff, so don't you just love Tiva fluff? I DO! Review please! **


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, so I KNOW that I already updated today, but it's a short chapter, so it will do, and I was bored. So enjoy!**

"Ugh, thank god I am finally clean." Ziva said, ducking her head down and wrapping the towel around her soaking wet hair before swirling it into a 'bun' on the top of her head. She walked into observation, where Tony was already there. He smiled at her and took a sip of coffee.

"You feel refreshed now?"

"Yes," She smiled, "Thank you," She walked over and stood next to him, taking his coffee from his hands and sipping it before passing it back to him. She stared at a nervous looking Jimmy Palmer, who was looking around, his eyes never resting on one place, his hands wringing together between his legs as he visibly gulped, so loudly that Tony and Ziva even heard it, "How long has he been in there?"

"Uh…" Tony looked down at his watch as Ziva took the coffee from his hands again, taking another sip from it before passing it back to him, "I say an hour, maybe two."

"Is Gibbs ever going to interrogate him? He looks like he is going to break any minute now, Tony!" Ziva said, thrusting her hands at Jimmy, "You really believe he did it." She said in a tone that clearly couldn't believe that he thought that. Tony shrugged, "You really believe that he did it!"

"Well I think that…" He started, but then Gibbs walked into interrogation, taking his sweet time in closing the door. He looked at Tony and Ziva, through the glass, giving them an expressionless gaze before taking his seat down in the chair, scooting forward towards the table, setting down his papers on top, "I hate it when he does that."

"When he does what?"

"Gives us that famous 'Gibbs' stare. Pierces you with those blue eyes and those…" But he was interrupted with a good smack on the back of the head followed by a 'shut up'. He turned and faced his partner, his mouth dropping open a little, "Did you just…did you just…?" All that escaped from her lips was a small chuckle.

"Look, Agent Gibbs, I didn't-"

"Shut up." Gibbs said, a little softly, Tony noted.

"But Agent Gibbs-"

"Shut up," Gibbs said again, repeating himself in the same tone of voice.

"Agent Gibbs could you just please-"

"I said shut up Mr. Palmer!" Gibbs finally yelled, causing Jimmy to sink back into his seat. Both the observation room and the interrogation room were very quiet, the only sound was the ragged breathes of a very, very nervous Jimmy Palmer.

"Oh, come on, Gibbs, get on with it! I wanna see him crack!" Tony said, excitedly.

Ziva laughed and removed the towel from on top of her head, fluffing her hair with her hands to make it sit flat. She noticed Tony staring, and she furrowed her eyebrows together, "What?"

"N-Nothing."

"Why'd you do it, Jimmy?" Gibbs asked, his voice quiet.

"Do what?"

"Threaten to kill one of my agents!"

"What? No, no, you got it all wrong, Agent Gibbs, I didn't threaten anyone, Doctor Mallard can tell you that."

"Why did you threaten to kill one of my agents?"

"Agent Gibbs! I just explained to you that I didn't!"

"Maybe this will help you 'remember'" Gibbs said, opening up the file folder and pulling out scans of the letters. He put two of them in front of him, "Look familiar, Jimmy?"

He picked them up with his sweat coated, shaking hands, and skimmed over them, "Nope, sorry. Can I go now?" He asked, starting to stand up.

"No. Sit back down." Gibbs said, pointing to the seat, "Why did you deliver these letters to Officer David?" Jimmy sat down.

"I didn't deliver any letters!"

"Then why did you run?" Gibbs asked, enraged and completely livid about the fact that Jimmy was flat out lying to his face, "Why did you run from Agent DiNozzo and Officer David?"

"Tony was going to kill me! I needed to get out there!"

"Why did you deliver the letters?"

"I didn't deliver the letters!"

Jethro stood up, slamming his hands down on the table, leaning forward, his piercing blue eyes staring into Jimmy's before screaming, "Why did you do it?"

He gulped and scooted away from Gibbs' un-ignorable glare.

"Damn it, Palmer! No!" He slammed his hand down on the table, making the autopsy's assistant flinch, jumping a little in his seat, "Why did you do it? Why are you betraying your own damn agency?" Gibbs chucked the scans of the letters across the table, where they slid off the table and onto the floor.

"Okay, look, I didn't mean to…"

"Didn't mean to? How could you not mean to betray your own agency?"

"I didn't know the letters wrote…that to Ziva. He kept telling me that he was her secret admirer…"

"Who?"

"Uh…the guy that gave me the letters."

"Who?" Gibbs asked again, a little forcefully.

"He kept telling me that his name was Mike. Just Mike. I never got a good look at his face, though, because he was always wearing sunglasses and a black sweatshirt." Jimmy replied nervously, "Can I…can I go now?"

Gibbs ignored him and stood up, turning to face the glass, where he gave Tony and Ziva a rather concerned look.

"Jimmy didn't do it." Ziva noted.

"Rivkin," Tony spat.


	20. Chapter 20

Jimmy Palmer carefully walked into the bullpen, eyeing the three agents, before realizing that Gibbs wasn't in sight. He let out a visible sigh of relief and then walked over to Ziva's desk.

"Yes?" She asked him, looking up from her computer. Tony immediately stood up and walked towards her desk, standing behind her, resting one hand on the back of her seat. Ziva smiled up at him.

"Look, Ziva, I'm sorry about…the letters…I didn't know! So I got you this…sorry." He set down the pink box with white ribbon and a gold stamp from a bakery onto her desk. Ziva gave him a closed smile, staring down at the box.

"Thank you, Jimmy, but this is…not necessary."

"Yeah, but I just wanted to make it up to you…" Tony snatched the box up and carefully unwrapped it to reveal a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing. He sniffed it and then took a little bite of it in his hands. He rubbed it together and then sniffed it again before touching his tongue to it.

"Probie!" He called out.

"Yeah?" McGee asked, looking up from his notes.

"Take this down to Abby's for chemical tests." He outstretched his hands, which were holding the box.

"Tony!" Ziva scolded, "Jimmy is just trying to make it up to me, he is not going to poison a _cupcake._" She turned back to Jimmy, "I forgive you."

"Thank you," He said, letting out a sigh of relief as McGee jogged over, grabbing the box with the cupcake out of Tony's hands and then starting towards the elevator.

"I still don't believe you…_Jim-may._" Tony said, pronouncing the syllables in his name.

"What don't you believe, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the bullpen, coffee in hand. Jimmy saw the boss and made a mad dash to the elevator, crashing into Ziva's desk and shoving past a couple of people before pounding on the button as it opened. He jumped in and pounded on the buttons again before Tony started to burst out laughing. Ziva smiled, her lips in a tight line, as if to try to keep back the laugh that was threatening to slip through. She finally gave up and Tony slumped against Ziva, who started to laugh in Tony's shoulder.

"Did….you….see….his….face?" Tony asked in between laughs. Ziva nodded and pointed to her face, swirling it around as she continued to laugh.

The laughing, however, abruptly stopped as two slaps were applied to the back of each of their heads. Tony abruptly stood up, and Ziva sat up straight in her seat.

"Have you two got anything for me? Or do all you two idiots know what to do is laugh?"

"Uh…" Tony ran over to his desk and picked up a notebook, "After landing in Dulles four days ago, Michael _Retkin_ checked into the Renaissance down the street, a couple of blocks, before spending the night. In the morning he visited the Israeli Embassy and then spent lunch in a café before….we lost everything after that, boss, but he hasn't bought a ticket for a plane back home….maybe he's staying till he kills Ziva."

"Or he's after someone else." Gibbs said, "Good work, DiNozzo. I want you and David to go down and interview people in the Renaissance. Bellhops, secretaries, waiters, anyone who had any contact at all with Rivkin. Call McGee back up from the lab and get him to stay in contact with you from the car that will be parked across the street from the hotel. Get in there, get out. If Rivkin is there and sees the two of you, you won't have asses to sit on for the rest of your lives! Now move it!" Tony and Ziva nearly tripped over each other as they stood up and went to grab their gear before sprinting towards the elevator.

"Can you hear us, McDeaf?" Tony asked as they walked across the street towards the Renaissance.

"Unfortunately, yeah, I can, Tony. I can see the Renaissance and a perfect view of both of you. I'll be able to tell you if an Taxi, limo, or any other car containing Rivkin leaves the hotel."

"Great. We're entering now, Probie. Pay attention! Watch the senior field agent and the Mossad assassin work!"

Ziva punched him in the arm, "Keep that quiet, DiNozzo." She muttered through her teeth as they walked up to the secretary.

"Hi, how are you?" Tony asked, flashing the woman his famous smile. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"Typical." She scoffed. Tony shot her a surprising glance and then turned back to the woman.

"Yeah, we're here to see a friend…Mike Retkin. You know him?"

"Yeah, checked in a couple of days ago. He was rather handsome," She smiled, raising her eyebrows. Tony couldn't help but feel a little pang of jealousy of Michael, even if he was a cold-blooded killer. He had something that he never did; Ziva. Engaged. To him. _He had, DiNozzo, had, past tense! She loves you, she's told you that. You know that. Don't worry. _The secretary searched through her computer while Tony was fighting with himself in his head before she finally stopped, her voice bringing him out of his scolding, "Ah, here we go. Michael Retkin…do you want me to call him down for you?"

"Actually, see, we kinda have a surprise for him, so we would like to complete surprise him." The secretary turned to Ziva and looked at her as if she didn't believe him.

Ziva just nodded her head, "Yes, see, he is my long-lost…cousin. My fiancé," she pointed to Tony, "and I just wanted to surprise him."

"Hah, nice lie, Ziva." Tony heard McGee say through the ear wig.

She smiled, "Well I think that you two may have spoiled your surprise." She said, "Sorry!" She shrugged her shoulders. Tony and Ziva exchanged a confused look before turning back to the secretary.

"Huh? What's happening? Tony? Ziva?"

"What? What are you-" Tony started, but then turned around when the secretary pointed to the elevator. Ziva followed him as she stared at the man that had just gotten out of the elevator. His eyes were staring straight into Ziva's. He gave her a wide, evil smile, as if she had just fallen into his trap.

"Tony? Tony! Update!" McGee continued to scream into Tony's ear.

"Michael…." Ziva whispered.

Tony took Ziva's hand protectively in his, pulling her close to him, squeezing it lightly before muttering, "Probie, we've got a problem here."


	21. Chapter 21

"Maybe he didn't see us…" Tony muttered as he steered Ziva away from the secretary's desk and quickly through the exit to the hotel.

"Didn't see us? Didn't see us? Tony! He saw us!" He, however, didn't stop, and he continued to pull her through the crowd of people who were shoving each other as they hurried down the sidewalk, "If we run away now, he will follow us, and he will find us, and he will shoot you! Tony! Stop it!" She yelled the last two words so loud that a couple of people stopped and stared at the two of them.

"Stop making a scene, come on, cross the street. McGee's waiting for us."

"No! Tony, I want this to end. I want this to be over with. I am trained to deal with Hamas, I am trained to deal with Michael. Please, let me."

"I can't let you do that Ziva. You're under my custody, and because you're under my custody, you're also under my rules. And Tony's rule number one is…NO!"

She scoffed, "That is completely ridiculous and immature. Let go of me, Tony. I am not a little girl!" She pulled on his hand, forcing him to stop as they stumbled into a small part under an awning that was less crowded, "Let. Go. Of. Me." She growled, "Before I decide to kill you instead."

"Ziva, I can't let you do this. At least let me call Gibbs."

"If you loved me, you would know what is best for me…"

"This is what's best for you! What's best for you is that you stay here with me….in my protective custody!"

"Fine. If you did love me like you say that you do, you would know that I could handle this."

"I know that you can handle this Ziva! I just don't think that I can handle this!"

"You? You do not have to do anything but just wait for me to come out before calling Gibbs!"

"I don't think I can emotionally take it, Ziva." He sighed, taking her hand in his, "I just can't."

"Are you admitting that you actually have other feelings?"

"I admitted that before. Now let me call Gibbs, we can-"

"Too late." Ziva said, grabbing Tony's arm and pulling him through the crowd, "He's coming. He has a gun. Call Gibbs right now."

"DiNozzo…I'm calling Gibbs right now. He's on his way. He also told me to tell you to keep an eye on Rivkin, don't let him out of your sight. And when the hell did you and Ziva hook up?" McGee asked into his ear, and Tony had almost forgotten that he was there. DiNozzo, however, ignored McGee's constant pestering at him about Ziva.

Tony tried to turn his head to take a peek at the man, but Ziva kept pulling him back, "How do you know he has a gun?"

"In Mossad training, those that were not able to identify a man with a gun usually did not live long." Ziva said, pulling Tony into a small boutique. They knew what to do, and they immediately went to work. Tony pulled a hat off of the rack as he walked in and shoved it on his head as Ziva reached for a scarf, wrapping it around her. She then shrugged a jacket on as Tony slipped a t-shirt over his head. Tony only then realized that Ziva was on the other side of the store as him just as Michael was walking in. His heart skipped a beat as he stared longingly at his lover, in which whom was edging her way slyly towards him. The minute that Michael saw the look in Ziva's eyes was the minute that he knew that Rivkin knew who they were; his eyes had shot up like the forth of July. Tony watched them closely. He moved towards them, Ziva's eyes speaking to him. She was afraid.

"My Ziva?" Rivkin asked, and she involuntarily turned to look at him. His face turned into a bigger smile. That was when he made a move at her; he reached for his gun.

"Freeze!" Tony said, drawing his SIG and pointing it at him, "Federal Agent! Put your hands in the air, you're under arrest!" Ziva copied his motion, the scarf that was around her head slipping off in the process.

"Ziva, love, you can not possible arrest me, yes?" Michael asked as he turned and pointed the gun at Tony, "If you arrest me, I will have to shoot the man that took you away from me, yes? Anthony DiNozzo, is it not?"

"I said drop your weapon! NCIS!" Tony yelled, and Ziva scooted towards him, her gun still drawn at the ready, "Drop your weapon!" Tony shouted, and then suddenly, Tony heard a gun shoot just as his feet were knocked out from under him. He hit the floor with a large boom, a couple of people screamed, and the pitter patter of people's feet were heard in his ears as well as some crude Hebrew words, which Tony thought meant…well not nice things. He groaned and blinked his eyes open as he sat up and looked around, noticing that Ziva and Michael were not in the store anymore. He swore under his breath and then grabbed his gun as he stumbled out of the store. He pushed past the swarming people that were trying desperately to move out of the way, "McGee! Where the hell is Gibbs? Rivkin took off, Ziva chased after him after knocking me down. Trace her cell, I need to know where she is."

"On it," McGee responded, and Tony could hear the typing of the keyboard in his ear.

"Hurry it up McSlow, I don't have much time!" Tony yelled as he shoved past two lawyers, who muttered incoherent yet rude things at him.

"Sorry….she's…right. There, Tony. Right there where you're standing. You're right on top of each other! You don't see her?"

"No!" Tony yelled as he stopped and turned around, trying to pick out Ziva and Rivkin in the crowd of frightened people. He heard a grunt and then a mutter of Hebrew as he turned around and started towards the alley, his gun at the ready. The first thing Tony noticed was the fact that Ziva looked completely helpless, shoved up against the wall, her feet dangling, a gun at her head, Rivkin's hand shoving against her bad shoulder as his elbow shoved up against her other shoulder, keeping her there. She made a face in obvious pain as he shoved her bad shoulder into the grainy wall. Her white shirt was getting completely dirty, the dirt stains visible. Tony couldn't understand why she didn't do anything. Then, when he looked down at the ground, he noticed something…her gun. He picked it up and then pointed his gun at Rivkin as Ziva turned her head, catching his eye.

"Tony!" She yelled in an almost frightened tone of voice. Michael turned his head and glared at the senior field agent, "Shoot him, Tony." She yelled, "Shoot him!" Tony closed his eyes and then opened them, hoping that it would all just be a bad dream.

"Drop your weapon, or I will shoot my love!"

"You would never shoot Ziva," Tony said, "You love her too much. That's why you stalked her until you figured out that she loved someone else. Then you wanted to kill her."

"She was mine from the beginning! I sent her those letters to prove to her how much I loved her! But when I found out that she was seeing you…you Catholic American…I couldn't help but take action! She was mine from the beginning! She was in love with me!" Michael protested.

"No, she wasn't." Tony shook his head, "Drop the weapon." Michael smirked and then let go of Ziva, turning on the senior field agent, promptly punching him in the nose. Tony stumbled back as Ziva's back scraped against the concrete wall before she slumped onto the ground. Tony, clutching his nose, took a snap at Michael, who dropped the gun onto the ground and put up both of his fists, in defense as Tony punched him across the face. Rivkin stumbled into the garbage bin, that rumbled loudly across the poorly paved street, and then pulled out a knife from his pocket and started towards Tony. Ziva noticed her ex-fiance's actions and crawled on the ground towards the gun that Michael had dropped. She grabbed it and just as Tony moved, but Michael managed to stab his knife into Tony's shoulder just as a gun shot was heard, followed by another and another. Tony clutched his shoulder and pulled out the knife as he saw Michael's blood drain out of his body as his body hit the cold pavement. Tony turned and stared at his partner in disbelief as she managed to sit up, placing a hand on her head as she smiled a closed smile up at Tony. He bent down next to her and placed a hand on her cheek, staring into her eyes, "You okay?"

"Yes, Tony…" She breathed, "I am fine. We need to get you to the hospital. The threat is over. Michael's dead."

"Ziva…" Tony started, "You just shot your fian-"

"Ex-fiance, Tony, and I never loved him anyways."

"DiNozzo! Ziva!" The two looked up to see their boss running towards them, followed by McGee. Gibbs dropped down to his knees and examined his two agents as McGee stopped short, staring at the body of Michael Rivkin, "You two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine boss." Tony said, clutching his shoulder with his hand, wincing a little as he felt slim fingers wrap around his other hand.

Gibbs just stared at them, "McGee! Take DiNozzo and David to Bethesda, I'll call Ducky, get him to take the body back to autopsy."

"On it, boss." McGee said, "The car's out front." Tony nodded his head as he pulled Ziva up, who slumped against him. She was obviously traumatized from the whole thing, even if she didn't want to admit it to him. He rubbed her back soothingly as he helped her into the Charger, kissing her on the head.

"It's okay, Ziva, it's okay. I love you, it will be all right." She nodded her head before speaking in a whisper.

"Ani ohev otach," She muttered, and Tony had to make sure that he looked that up when he got back to headquarters.

**YAH! He's dead! Yes! That should make you want to review, right? Yes! Review!**


	22. Chapter 22

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Abs! Watch out for the shoulder!" Tony said as he grunted, all of the air squeezed out of him by the weight of Abby against him. She let go of him and then smiled at him.

"Sorry! Sorry, Tony! But I'm just so happy you're not dead!"

"So am I," Tony chuckled as he returned his hand down to where Ziva's was, her head slightly down, looking a little disoriented. Abby, however, didn't seem to notice her lack of attentiveness.

Ziva's hand suddenly flew off out of his as she stumbled back, obviously startled by Abby's hug.

"Ziva! You're all right! You're not dead, you caught Michael!"

"No, Abby," Ziva said, pushing her away, "I shot him." She said as she exchanged a sad, loving glance with Tony before shoving Abby away and starting towards her desk. She threw down her backpack and then started towards the other elevator on the other side of the squad room.

"What did I do wrong, Timmy?" Abby asked McGee sadly.

"I don't know, Abs." McGee replied, patting her back as he turned to Tony, whose gaze was still staring off where Ziva had disappeared, "Tony?" McGee asked, but then realized that Tony was inattentive, "Hey, DiNozzo!" He yelled, and Tony blinked.

"Yeah?" He asked, softly.

"What's wrong with-"

"I don't know, Tim." Tony said as he started to jog off towards where Ziva had just exited.

McGee turned to the forensic scientist, "He called me Tim."

Abby's face was expressionless, as she stared after the two, "Aww Tony…" She smiled.

Tony pushed the button for the elevator, and the doors opened, revealing the Mossad Liason officer to his eyes, leaning up against the panel, her head slumped against it, her eyes slightly closed as she opened them up and stared at him. She just grunted, but didn't move. He stepped in and pressed the button. The elevator doors closed and he started towards his partner, "Zi? You okay?"

"I am fine, Tony."

"You don't…you don't look fine. Still in shock over…"

"No," She quickly said, snapping her eyes open and her head up to look at him, "No." She whispered, almost as if she was trying to convince herself.

"You loved him," Tony said, sadly, "Didn't ya?"

"I love you," She said, "and only you, Tony, that will never change. I shot him to protect you," She stood up to her full height, and he brushed a piece of hair away from her face, tucking it under her ear.

"I understand," He smiled, "I love you too…"

He leaned down and pecked her sweetly on the lips, "I never thought this relationship would work," She murmured between kisses, "If I did, I would have told you sooner." She laughed between kisses and then wrapped her arms around his neck as she felt his hands on the small of her back, pulling her close to him. Both their eyes closed, the kiss started to heat up, and soon Ziva was moaning under him, desperate for more as she opened up her mouth, letting him in. She could taste him inside of her, everything as they played tonsil hockey for a bit before breaking apart, their noses touching as he pecked her again. They leant their foreheads on the others, their noses brushing against each other as they breathed heavily, "Tony…" She breathlessly whispered.

"Ziva…" He pecked her again, letting his lips linger on hers for a moment before resuming his position.

"Ahem," They heard someone clear their throat, and they both shot their eyes open, turning and looking. It was only then that they realized that the elevator doors had opened, and the elevator wasn't moving anymore. Ducky, Abby, McGee, Jenny, and Gibbs all stood there, staring at them. They quickly broke apart from each other, muttering apologies to the team and each other as they both felt a warmth rise to their cheeks. Ducky just smiled, laughing a little in his accent.

"Good for you two!" The Medical Examiner finally said, clasping his hands together.

"You two…" McGee shook his head, smiling a little.

Jenny just nodded her head, but then started shaking it in disbelief as she looked down at the ground and then back up at them, still smiling.

"Rule twelve," Gibbs said, giving them his famous half-smile before walking away. McGee, Ducky, and the director followed, leaving only a jumping Abby left. Tony and Ziva smiled at each other before both clasping their hands to their ears as the forensic scientist screamed.

"YAY!" She yelled, running to hug them both, "You two are together! Finally!" She then let go of them both, causing them to stumble back as she ran off towards the rest of the team, "McGee! McGee! You owe me fifty bucks and a Caf-Pow!" She yelled before singing, "Tony and Ziva sitting in the elevator…k-i-s-s-i-n-g…."

**THE END**

**Thank you SO SO SO much for ALL of the nice reviews! It was amazing! I loved this story so much, and to be honest, I'm sad it's over. Maybe I'll make a sequel…I have a sub-plot, I just need to think of a main plot. So review, tell me what you thought of the whole thing! **


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